A chess game between Burton's flaws and strengths as a filmmaker.

Rating: 8/10 (4 October 2012)

I actually really enjoyed 'Dark Shadows' to my surprise. I often find it hard to review a Burton film. I am a huge fan of the visual and aesthetic style he's perfected and trademarked over the years as I'm sure a great many people are and yet despite this he has tremendous flaws as a storyteller. None of Burton's films save his masterpiece 'Ed Wood' have a story with characters. They all remind me of modern day hybrids of silent German expressionism but rather than delve into a wide range of themes and emotions Burton's films always punctuate the same note every time. 'Dark Shadows' falls into the same set up as all of Burton's films, the quirky loner trying to integrate into a society that is completely foreign to him. I think though that being a comedy and camp film tremendously help 'Dark Shadows' make this Burton formula fresh again. Generally, I am one that thinks Burton's comedies are much stronger than his straight efforts. Burton realizes this distorted Barnabas Collins can only be played for laughs and it works. This movie is very funny and Depp creates one of the most relatable Burton characters in years.
I will begin this review by saying that I am not familiar with the original 'Dark Shadows' soap opera and so I can't really give a fair estimation as to whether or not it is a fair adaptation. I do however think that Burton is not someone to go to if you want a faithful adaptation of a previously released source material. All of Burton's adaptations became reflections of himself and many of them bear little to no resemblance to the original material. I like elements of 'Batman' and 'Batman Returns' even though both films are horrific adaptations of the comics. Surprisingly though I felt as though Burton really tried to squeeze a great deal of exposition into this film, far more than one usually gets from a Tim Burton film. The first seven or eight minutes of the film is a long monologue by Depp's Collins giving the back story of the universe. When the film hits these moments it grinds to a screeching halt in an otherwise briskly paced film. I was quite surprised to really see this with Burton and I think he probably should have trimmed some of these scenes as his filmmaking strengths all really have to do with mood and yet I admire that effort was placed into giving depth to the characters. I think exposition could have been given as a result of action. This is probably one of Burton's most developed stories and yet it is still lacking. It's a worthy try though.
The ultimate success of the film stems from it's really well cast and performed ensemble. I gave up on Burton for a while because I was growing tremendously tired of his constant casting of Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, who generally I greatly enjoy. I just get the feeling that they cannot say no to one another. This film does not blindly place them in their roles however. Both of these characters greatly play into their strengths. I loved Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman who plays as a goth freaked out version of her character Marla from 'Fight Club'. Depp is very funny here as Barnabas Collins because the joke is he has so much dignity and he can't really do anything with it. Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Earle Haley, Chole Moretz all have a great deal of fun with their roles. Eva Green goes into violent extremities as Angelique but this is a Burton film after all.
None of these characters are particularly rounded or fleshed out but they are interesting types. I suppose Burton's films always deal with caricatures but caricatures can be interesting if talented and driven actors find their intricacies and do fun things with them. I didn't really emotionally invest myself in Barnabas Collin's plight but I was entertained by Depp's performance because of it's energy and playfulness.
This is a Tim Burton film to the core. I've seen Tim Burton's films and I like a lot of what they do but he is a flawed filmmaker. I think 'Dark Shadows' with it's beautiful sets, seventies music, quirky performances, more detailed story and goofiness has enough to really make me look past Burton's flaws and admire his strengths.