“Dark Shadows” is all Tim Burton [MOVIE REVIEW
BELLA HEATHCOTE as Victoria Winters, MICHELLE PFEIFFER as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, JACKIE EARLE HALEY as Willie Loomis, JOHNNY DEPP as Barnabas Collins, CHLOÃ GRACE MORETZ as Carolyn Stoddard, JONNY LEE MILLER as Roger Collins, and GULLY McGRATH as David Collins in the gothic comedy DARK SHADOWS. Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
“Dark Shadows,” Tim Burton’s send up of the camp daytime soap opera about 18th Century vampire Barnabus Collins’ return to what purports to be the civilization of the early 1970s, complete with hippies, bell bottoms and glitter balls, is something of a coulda woulda shoulda. Certainly I wish I had had as much fun as the participants seemed to be having but in the end, and a spectacular special effects end it is, the film was as wispy as some of the ghosts that flew by.
When Barnabus Collins spurned the affections of the beautiful Angeliqe Bouchard in favor of those of the innocent Josette DuPres in 1750, he had no idea what a living hell he would be forced to live. Angelique, a witch of considerable power, drove Josette to suicide and turned Barnabus into a vampire. Still not satisfied, Angelique incited the townsfolk against him and he was buried alive for more than 200 years. Awakened in 1972, Barnabus homed in on his family manor, now occupied by his relatives – Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, her resentful teenage daughter Caroline, Elizabeth’s useless brother Roger and Roger’s son David. The eponymously named town of Collinsport has seen its better days and is now dominated by the town sweetheart “Angie.” Not content with owning the port, the cannery and all the boats, Angie/Angelique has also cursed the Collins family. A mash-up will soon be in the works.
It may just be my imagination but it seems as if Johnny Depp has been sporting the same make-up in every Tim Burton movie – pasty white pancake with dark circles under the eyes and slashes of black along the cheekbones. At least in this case, blood red is added to and around the lips. Depp, affecting an English accent, clearly had fun overacting in this modern day German Expressionist-style film with sly references in production design, costuming and make-up to the iconic “Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” from 1920.
The Museum of Modern Art’s Tim Burton exhibit in 2009 established his legitimacy as a visual artist and therein lies the problem as film is the visual representation of a written story; style and substance. Burton is almost all style with very little substance; it must, however, be said that it is quite a style. But “Dark Shadows” is the very embodiment of the Woody Allen quote: “Right now it’s only a notion, but I think I can get the money to make it into a concept, and later turn it into an idea.”
There are some wonderful parts to what never quite adds up to a whole and the most wonderful is Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth. Pfeiffer is a natural comedienne who knows exactly how to play it straight in order to maximize the laugh. No one uses posture and a raised eyebrow to better effect. Jackie Earle Haley as the drunken family retainer makes you realize what a wonderful character actor he is and how great to have him rediscovered. And of course there’s always Helena Bonham Carter, a regular presence in Burton’s films and his life. Although her role as the Collins’ family inebriated live-in psychiatrist is one in a long line of silly character roles, she plays it well. Her hair, the color worn by many an aging French woman, that red that does not exist in nature, perfectly complements her creamy complexion and is an exclamation point to her personality.
Eva Green makes a suitably evil Angelique. Jonny Lee Miller, a marvelous triple threat actor from stage, screen and television, is totally wasted in a marginal and almost inexplicable role as a ne’er do well family member.
There are several things that would have made this visually stunning film better. Foremost among them would have been a script and a judicious editor as the film drags at 113 minutes. Overly expositional, trimming at least 20 minutes would have eliminated some of the redundancy and moved it along at a necessarily quicker pace. Still, regardless of my complaints, Tim Burton fans will be satisfied and it was made for them.
Opening Wide on Friday, May 11.
Neely also writes a blog about writers in television and film at http://www.nomeanerplace.com