A Gothic Symphony of Love and Horror
In Francis Ford Coppola’s the brides of Dracula, the blood thirsty vampire leaves his Transylvanian homeland in search of Mina Murray a woman who reminds him of his dead wife, portrayed by Winona Ryder. The story goes to a somber pathetic love and temptation, and horror brought by the count, who is being chased by Van Helsing beautifully portrayed by Anthony Hopkins.
The movie explores themes of love, forgiveness and evil vs good. Gothic atmosphere is achieved here through the use of black lighting and opulent costumes that are in tune with the horror story with a touch of love tragedy on the side.
Gary Oldman is back at his best as the infamous Count Dracula; a mixture of malevolence and melancholy. Winona Ryder really does a more than decent job of portraying Mina Murray, torn between her love and her responsibilities, but Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker is dedicated, if slightly wooden. The charismatic Anthony Hopkins plays Van Helsing, charming yet resolved, while Laurence Fishburne’s menacing performance captures the menacing Dracula perfectly.
The young director Coppola proves his skills using a great amount of styles in the film and in the external visual component of the picture, carrying out the gothic feel of the novel by Bram Stoker. With, evil beauty, he painted a world that is as seductive as it is terrifying .
The haunting notes of Wojciech Kilar underlining the Gothic polichrome that animates the story. The soundtrack is integrated into the story and rises and falls at points of dramatic significance.
The costumes are perfect and Michael Ballhaus has photographed the Victorian Gothic backgrounds perfectly. The vision of colors and the application of many techniques when it comes to shooting add to the movie’s timeless and authentic feel. Every location – from Count Dracula’s castle in the Carpathian Mountains to the East End of London – is as Gothic as they come, and fully detailed in keeping with the film’s historical setting.
The sfx are ‘old school’ but properly choreographed to herein provide a passable view of a vampire experience. The processes of transformations and the overall number of gothic images successfully keep the thriller component in the film.
The pacing of the film respects the gothic novel’s archetypes and interlaces the dramatic episodes with right traces of suspense.
The speed of the film is slow, but it draws audiences into the lingering gothic experience. This strategy loses the fast speed in favor of slower speed that is suitable for the movie’s tone.
They speak in some Victorian-like manner while reflecting the personalities and experiences of pragmatic characters. Oldman and Hopkins deliver several great lines and there is much tension portrayed in the film , In addition, the dialogues that come out of the mouth of Oldman and Hopkins are particularly memorable. Still these do little to detract from the overall gothic narrative that Coppola spins.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a film that completely immersed me in a dark and brooding world that was far more complex than it was straightforwardly evil. The slow moving action, and the grand sets, which was enhanced by the Gothic décor gave it a chilling feel and defined Coppola’s vampire story a romantic horror fantasy.
