Sadness of the vampire

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2011)

Maybe the vampire life isn't all it's cracked up to be. The chance to live forever, that's a good deal right? But that deal comes, of course, with complications. Foremost among them being the need to kill. This is something Louis never really comes to grips with. Louis has been a vampire for 200 years. As we meet him, in modern-day San Francisco, he is about to tell his story to a reporter. And what a story it is. But it's a story tinged with melancholy and sadness. Some may embrace the vampire life. Louis though mourns the life he once had, the humanity he long ago lost.
It all began in Louisiana in 1791. Mourning the loss of his wife and newborn child Louis just wants to be put out of his misery, to die. Instead, when he crosses paths with the vampire Lestat, he is born to a new eternal life. And immediately regrets it. Lestat more or less embraces his vampire existence. Louis never does. He soon finds himself feeding on the blood of rats. Better that Louis thinks than taking human life. But eventually Louis will have to accept what it is that he has become. He may accept it but he doesn't have to like it. This is one morose vampire. Perhaps what he needs is a companion to shake him from his doldrums. So Lestat gives him one. A child, Claudia. A young girl turned vampire. Louis loves Claudia and protects her. Not that she initially seems to need much in the way of protection. This girl's a killer, she loves the taste of blood. But what happens when she realizes she will never grow old? Will she accept her eternal childhood? No, she will not. And the ramifications for the happy little vampire family of Lestat, Louis and Claudia will be severe.
This is a movie with a dark, gloomy feel to it. Necessarily the story unfolds entirely in the nighttime which only adds to the foreboding darkness. The vampire life we see here is anything but glamorous. As modern-day Louis tells his centuries-long story it is obvious he does not feel he really lives. He simply survives. When he had Claudia to love things were better but that story never seemed destined for a happy ending. Ultimately Louis is a lonely man, walking the Earth, feeding on those who cross his path and cursing the dark "gift" he was given. Brad Pitt does an excellent job in the role of Louis, capturing all the melancholy, the weight of 200 dark years. As Lestat, Tom Cruise gets a much more flamboyant part to play and he does very well with it, taking the opportunity to chew some scenery but also doing some notably fine acting. Antonio Banderas, who pops up as a mysterious figure late in the proceedings, and Christian Slater, playing the reporter to whom Louis unburdens himself, both turn in good performances. With all the gloominess the film could use a lighter touch here and there and Stephen Rea plays a character who provides a few fleeting moments of levity. But there's a darkness in that character too. The vampire life is not one of fun and games. Perhaps the best performance in the film comes from young Kirsten Dunst playing Claudia. She's a real scene-stealer. Claudia's a woman, with decades of life experiences, trapped in a child's body. She has a maturity which belies her appearance and the actress playing that part had to show that same quality of maturity beyond her years. Dunst does so wonderfully. There's a lot of life that has been lived behind Claudia's young eyes and Dunst captures the essence of the eternal child perfectly. But as good as Dunst and Cruise and all the rest may be it's really Pitt's movie to carry. This is Louis's story. And it will prove to be a rather fascinating story indeed. Louis may not embrace his vampire life but you can definitely embrace this very entertaining movie.