Mister Coppola Drops the Ball, and the Casting Director Hires Two Bush-leaguers

Rating: 4/10 (10 April 2011)

There are two big problems with "Bram Stoker's Dracula." First, the movie takes too many liberties with Stoker's novel in terms of plot and tone, especially when you consider they went through the trouble of putting the novelist's name in the actual film title. This unusual step implies that you made a good-faith effort to stay true to the author's creation. In the book, Mina does not love Dracula at all and she is not the one who slays Dracula. And although you might be able to uncover some hints of sexual symbolism in the Victorian novel, the movie makes sexuality a major component of the story throughout. Now I believe firmly in zero censorship and I'm all for frank presentation of the female and male body and, if need be, sex - when it's artistic and appropriate; but out of respect to the novel, the eroticism in this movie is over the top, incongruous, and sometimes unintentionally comical.
The second big problem is the casting. A man of means, Francis Ford Coppola has made the gems "Apocalypse Now," "The Cotton Club," and "The Godfather." He could have insisted on top-notch actors. How he allowed Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder to assume British roles is beyond me. O.K., so the casting director made two grave errors, but this powerful director could have stepped in at that point. Reeves always comes off as stiff and lifeless and Ryder is seldom believable, and both are thoroughly American. Coppola could have held two casting calls in England, one for the character of Mina and the other for Jonathan Harker. By blindfolding himself and lobbing 2 balled-up socks into the British actors assembled, Coppola would have come away with a much better Mina and a much better Harker. Strangely, the normally superb Anthony Hopkins turns in an unconvincing and uninspired performance in this film. While watching the film, I got the feeling Hopkins realized the film wasn't going to be good early on and simply mailed it in.
The four stars are for some moments of eerily beautiful and effective cinematography. On the whole, this is a disappointment and a misfire.