Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX
Of the well over 200 “Dracula” films this “Dracula” by director Luc Besson touches the romantic core of the doomed Count, destined to live for eternity ferreting the reincarnation of his slain wife “Elisabeta”; like this year’s “Frankenstein”, “Dracula” is gorgeously, Gothically gory, seductively sensual, religiously rebellious and a total triumph. Starring Caleb Landry Jones (lacking the charisma of Frank Langella, Claes Bang, Gary Oldman) but is stylishly sensitive in his longing for the profundity of a love perpetually carved in his soul; “god” is damned, anathema until the reappearance of his wife. Religion informs a major bloc of “Dracula”; actor Christoph Waltz’s divinity is unquestionable as the “priest” who fearlessly quests the count’s return to the fold.
Actor Zoe Bleu Sidel’s beauty is breathless wonderment as “Elisabeta/Mina” (Winona Ryder a distant second) depicting the dual characters as a remarkable blend of timelessness in the four hundred year gap between encounters; there is a languishment, longing to melt into a familiar, but haunting era, metaphorically symbolized by a music box, opening her gateway to a sensuality lusting to be requited.
Besson’s mastery lies in his balance of rollicking and reverence; Dracula’s journey paved with dancing women willingly, allowing their necks to be crucified by the “devil”; age and boredom, broken by Mina, and the unveiling of a man defined by love.
As a heavenly brume swallows the count’s raven, obsidian history, love and boundless sacrifice illuminate a man destined for the celestial, not brimstone.
FOUR STARS!!!!
Peneflix
