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Anne Rice wrote the screenplay for this film and part of me curious if her books are any better because there were some great ideas in here along the lines of living a cursed life or what it would be like to be immortal…but that is all lost on the focus on bringing characters back, even if their arcs are done. Because of this there was no focus in the theme, characters and story which kept it from being a good film…though I admit I did enjoy this film.
“Interview with the Vampire” was directed by Neil Jordan, written by Anne Rice, who also wrote the book of the same name and produced by David Geffen and Stephen Woolley.
The story involves Louis (Brad Pitt) telling the story of his transformation and life as a vampire to the reporter Daniel Molloy (Christian Slater) and his relationship to his creator Lestat (Tom Cruise) and the daughter Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) they create while facing the curse of their existence.
The Pros: The Cinematography – The cinematography is stunning and captures the Gothic vampire theme extremely well. I enjoyed watching scenes that went nowhere because of how visually great they were, and the great acting by the main characters.
The Action – The action in this was also great. It was gory and captured the horror and sexuality of having blood sucked away really well. It captured being a traditional vampire really well in that way as well as the mystery and terror of what you cannot see or understand.
Claudia – Kirsten Dunst is great as the woman trapped as a child who is reckless and selfish but in the end just wants her mother and to be loved. In the end she finds it but is destroyed for attempting to kill Lestat.
Lestat – Tom Cruise does a wonderful job as this insane vampire who turns Louis and is the perfect example of privilege and no boundaries. He is always trying to manipulate Louis into him and his disregard for his is that of predator and prey. It is only when is vulnerable that he opens up truly and is shows how grateful he is that Louis doesn’t seem as trapped as him. Sadly this is erased when he somehow manages to get blood again through unexplained reasons.
Armand – Antonio Banderas is an awesome vampire who is ancient and craves to adapt and change but is still just as selfish as all the other as the he lets Claudia and her mom die so he can only have Louis. He is just much an immortal child as the rest of them, though with him it feels tragic as he distant and is isn’t as explicitly bad.
Louis – Brad Pitt is wonderful and works with what he has, which making Louis a white slave owner who is admired by his slaves. Anne Rice’s twisted idealism here was really bad and the best part was the slaves burning down his house. He gets beyond that and I’m glad he carries his guilt, he just never does anything to help others which sadly limits the talent of Pitt and what he can do. He does a good job though.
Okay: Daniel Molloy – The reporter misses all the horrible things that are done and disregards life just as must as Lestat…in that way him being turned seemed inevitable. Really wanted more complexity with this character. He is more Lestat without the crazy which makes him interesting but not a good character.
The Cons: The Vampires – They are all hedonists or insane which was just bad…there has got to be immortality and how people choose to live than that, even if cursed. They felt wasted…no diversity of characters or interactions beyond Armand.
Lestat never Dies – This character is nearly killed twice but he always lives. This was never explained and made no sense at all. It felt gratuitous.
The Slave Owner – His slaves respect him…really, Anne Rice seemed to miss what it actually means like to be a slave and losing agency. Slaves and ex-slaves are the constant victims of vampires (Lestat and Louis specifically) and it is never addressed. Instead Claudia is saved showed there was never a point Louis saw his slaves as human beings.
Character Arcs – The characters don’t go anywhere. Claudia turns her mother but that goes nowhere as they are killed by he vampires, Lestat is vulnerable but still disregards life and his same shtick of maiming a person to near death and offering them immortality and brooding Louis stays brooding Louis. What was the point of sharing his story anyway?
This was a film that had great characters but went nowhere with any of them. Louis is still the cursed vampire who kills people, he never grows. Lestat is still crazy and hasn’t been changed from being vulnerable and Armand just disappears. What was the point of these characters if they never change? To me this was the biggest problem and kept it from being good. Not even good acting can save a script that doesn’t know where it was going and what it wants and I did not know what Anne Rice wanted from this film or story.
Final Score: 6.5 / 10
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