The Most Faithful Movie of The Book but Not 100% Faithful!

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2005)

WARNING THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOiLERS so if you haven't seen this movie yet or read Bram Stoker's classic book you may not want to read this review! The Dracula book by Bram Stoker is great and I have seen some movie versions which includes this one which is Coppola's take on it which he titled Bram Stoker's Dracula and with a title like that you may be mislead into thinking it's going to be totally faithful to the book but it isn't. It's more faithful than all the other great Dracula movies but has added things like the whole thing with Elizabeta and there are some gross scenes like a sleepwalking Lucy having sex with Dracula who has transformed himself into a wolf. The scene with the baby and Dracula's 3 brides was very disturbing too but that was in the book but it was more disturbing in the movie! I must admit to screaming NO when I saw that scene in this movie! The acting in this movie was great, Gary Oldman was superb as Dracula and I'm surprised that he doesn't get the recognition that he deserves. Anthony Hopkins was great too as the eccentric Van Helsing but I think he played him even nuttier than he was in the book and the character was almost psychotic. Wynona Ryder was a good Mina except I think she could have worked a little on her imitation of a British accent, it was rather weak but her acting was great. Keanu Reeves was good as Jonathan Harker and honestly I don'think his imitation of a British accent was that bad and I think his accent was better than Wynona's. The guy who played Renfield was good but not quite as good as Peter McNichol played Renfield in the Mel Brook's spoof Dracula Dead and Loving it! The actress playing Lucy was very pretty but unfortunately was very annoying especially with all her scenes where she was moaning and groaning and when I was watching the DVD I said aloud a couple of times oh shut up and just shut her up! Though this movie is not totally faithful to the book I still recommend it to fans of the book and fans of Dracula movies though I have to take points off for the weird scene of Lucy and Dracula morphed into a wolf creature! EEEEEWWWWWW!