By Request: Shadow of the Vampire

For Pete (who probably thought I forgot...)


Shadow of the Vampire (E. Elias Merhige, 2000) "Such is the cost of genius...Thank God!  An end to this artifice!"

God has nothing to do with it.

Besides, there's only room for one god on a movie set.

F.W. Murnau may be the greatest director "of all time."  He will have his way and his vision no matter what the cost.  Wanting to make a film of Bram Stoker's "Dracula," not even the small matter of the author's estate refusing the rights will stop him.  It is only the first purifying cross he must bear in his effort to make the perfect vampire movie.  His actors are either rebelling or morons, his crew is competent but not privy to his plans.  It's all in his head, as he is the auteur, and he will see his film to the bitter end, even if he is the last man standing.  No cost is too great, no sacrifice too small in his sociopathic, artistic blood-lust to see his film see the light of day and projector.

He could be the star of his own vampire movie.  Shadow of the Vampire is on the epidermis level a fictionalized version of the filming of Murnau's Nosferatu, but it is also the story of how movie-making can be a power struggle, completely opposite to the collaborative effort it usually is.  The Murnau of the film (portrayed by John Malkovich) solves all the problems, does all the ground-work, directs the actors in a running stream of manipulation during filming (it's a silent film, of course).  He wants authenticity no matter what, filming on location in castles and ships, distaining studio sets (despite Nosferatu's artistic expressionism), and going the extra mile—hiring Max Schreck* (Willem Dafoe, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance) to play his vampire.

Here's where the film-makers leave reality behind and make their own story about creativity, and the supernatural hold power can sometimes hold over people: to realize his ideal of authenticity, Murnau, in the film, hires a real vampire.  Or maybe not.  Schreck, it is explained to the crew, has studied, with Stanislavsky, the immersive "method" of acting.  So, when he plays a vampire...he REALLY plays a vampire, always in costume, always in mood, even when the camera isn't rolling.  Just another demanding actor whose eccentricities must be humored.  And the humor is dark in Shadow of the Vampire, in the small areas ("I want make-up," Schreck sulks at one point.  "You're not getting it!" Murnau abrasively replies.) and in the larger scheme of things—the power struggles between the egomanical director and the homicidal vampire are giggle-inducing (in a good way)...and apt.  That Malkovich and Dafoe tend to resemble each other (and if Dafoe wasn't heavily made up and affecting Schreckage it would be even more apparent) and director Merhige keeps them sparring, negotiating, arguing throughout the film.  That the two don't destroy each other during the making of the film is only due to their mutual need.

Or maybe it's merely professional courtesy.







* Schreck, and this performance, are somewhat legendary.  Nicolas Cage, who executive produced the film, did his own version of Schreck's performance in Vampire's Kiss.  And Tim Burton named the manipulative toy magnate played by Christopher Walken in Batman Returns after the actor. 

You Can Count On Me - Take Two

"You Can Count On Me" (Kenneth Lonergan, 2000) Samantha Prescott does everything right. She's a responsible single mom, with a well-regimented life, a steady job as a loan officer at a bank in upstate New York.* Life is good.

Her younger brother, Terry, though, wanders around, has no job but does have a girl "in trouble," and needs money. So it's time for a visit to Sammy to get away from the disaster of his life, spend some time with family. Maybe borrow some money.

Sammy is the responsible one. Terry is responsible, too, but it's usually for trouble. How can two disparate people come from the same family? Easy! And Terry's visit becomes a disruptive influence in the calm of Sammy's life. Doesn't it?

That's the central issue in this warm, bitter little dramedy that has at its core two extraordinarily strong performances from the astonishing Laura Linney and the chameleon-like Mark Rufalo. Linney doesn't change her look much from movie to movie; for her, it's all in the eyes, and in this one, she's got her "high-beams" on, scoping the world for danger, but rarely seeing it. Imagining it, yes, but never seeing it. Rufalo is all shaggy schlumpf in attitude and posture--a human question mark. He answers a few questions in the mind of Sammy's son Rudy (the latest spookily-good Culkin, Rory)--things Mom would never reveal to keep things tidy. Meanwhile she has a prickly problem with her new boss (Mathew Broderick, in full smarm mode--what he does best).

It's a seemingly simple film about the complications of family, which as everyone and his brother knows, implies a lot of blood under the bridge, because it's always thicker than water.




* Alright, I see you smirking! At the time this was written, it wasn't nearly so ironic.

You Can Count on Me

You Can Count on Me, (Lonergan, 2000) - to screw up, to get on your case but also to be there for you.

A tale of personal accountability and how life isn't always fair but that there are some things you can rely on. Like the younger brother who always screws up, and the older sister who is always on his case, but also that people can and do sometimes act out of character or even change, and that some bonds are too strong to be broken.

It is a curious morality tale in which even Ron (played by the director, Kenneth Lonergan), the local priest admits that it doesn't matter too much about what you call your beliefs as long as you just have something to believe in:

Sammy: I don't know what the church's official position is on fornication and adultery these days, and I felt really hypocritical not saying anything to you about it before, but what is the official position these days?
Ron: Well... it's a sin.
Sammy: Good, I think it should be!
Ron: But we try not to focus on that aspect right off the bat.
Sammy: Why not? I think you should.
Ron: Well...
Sammy: Maybe it was better when they screamed at you from the box for having sex with your married boss, they told you what a terrible thing it was, they were really mean to you. Maybe it would be better if you just told me that I'm endangering my immortal soul and that if I don't stop, I'm gonna burn in hell. Don't you ever think that?
Ron: No, not really.

Laura Linney (as Sammy) and Mark Ruffalo (as her brother, Terry) carry the movie. Matthew Broderick (as Sammy's boss, Brian) does enough to show you why no one would want to work for him if not exactly why Sammy would want to meet him in a motel but maybe that's why Terry is right about how boring life is in Stockville. Definitely one to put on your list: you can count on it.