Nosferatu (2024)
Horny vampyr wreaks havoc on German town.
Presentation:
What would up-and-coming auteur Robert Eggers make with a 50 million budget? The result is a remake of the German vampire classic with modern flair. It has Egger’s DNA all over it especially with the moody mesopic style. The way the DP captured moonlight is better than anything we’ve seen in past cinema. The victorian gothic visuals are also immersively atmospheric, though some of the performances leave a lot to be desired. The dialogue is in the style of old Shakespeareean English and some of the performances aren’t convincing of the era. Lily Rose Depp over-acts and has one too many dramatic tears. If they were going for a theatre performance, they nailed it at the cost of losing authenticity. The rhythm is imbalanced beginning with Egger’s signature cryptic style with heavy thematic metaphors and ambiguity. This contrasts with over-the-top drama for the latter half. Visually the film is stunning with amazing costume design and camera movement, though the cinematography calls too much attention to itself and tapers off toward the end. Skarsgard is gleefully unrecognizable as usual, though the heavy breathing and Romanian accent are overdone.
Analysis:
Nosferatu is more a metaphor for death as explicitly repeated. Robert Eggers often implements themes in his films with men representing the violent masculine and females embodying the mystique. The way he utilizes men is this film is weak. Many of them don’t really offer any purpose and just scramble about. The story hinges on Lily Depp and her relationship with the vampyr. Eggers loves to explore sexual femininity so that ending was not atypical for him. That final scene could be seen as a religious reference to Jesus dying for humanity’s sins, though Egger never develops any further than this, opting for obscurity per usual.
Conclusion:
This film definitely falls into the art house category with a tonal split in its second half, as if upper management told Eggers you have to make the plot more understandable for the mainstream. It ends up feeling uncohesive, trying far too hard to be artistic. Unfortunately the focus is not on the story, but rather showcasing visual style and mood. One thing is for sure, if you like Egger’s folklore style, this shan’t disappoint.
Recommendations
Sometimes beauty does beat brains.