This dark, but human fantasy is an all-time fave

Rating: 8/10 (16 October 2001)

After renting this movie about 4-5 times, I finally bought in on sale at a grocery store and can now view it at any time. I've seen thousands of movies, but this is in my all-time top ten or so. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about this dark, melodramatic fantasy that I like so much, but it's certainly carved a niche in my all-time list. I can start with the great opening and closing sequences that bookend the film and continue on to the intense performances by Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, the brooding New Orleans and Paris landscape, the chilling musical score and on and on. I used to say I liked horror movies and I suppose I still do, somewhat ... and yes, the movie chills and thrills, but thanks to the characters and the screenplay, this is much more than a horror movie. I didn't go into this movie the first time with any particular interest in Anne Rice or anything but a curiosity. But this film has a heart, a soul, a horrible beauty, an ambiguous sexuality and many other elements that greatly intrigue me. At its heart, though, IWTV is about the heart and soul of Louie (Pitt) who lives with temptation and regret every day of his 200 years, which is something most of us can relate to. His performance, along with the spectacular ones of Cruise, Dunst and Banderas is spell-binding.