Nosferatu is a period horror movie, an adaptation of the 1922 silent film, itself an unauthorized take on Dracula.
Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter is uninspired, similar to his turn in Juror #2, he seems lost, adrift, and unable to really find the character or appropriately transmit the greater artistic intent. Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter is miscast and stands out in the cast as not up to the demand, the extended scenes of her moaning, rolling her eyes, and convulsing move quickly from terror to laughability. In both instances Hoult and Depp simply do not have the kind of movie star wattage this kind of tone piece with minimal character dimension requires to make work. Ana Taylor-Joy was originally slated for the Ellen role and Bill Skarsgård for Thomas, knowing this its impossible not to imagine how much better the movie would have been had that initial casting gone through. Skarsgård as Count Orlok the titular Nosferatu is decent but he's shown too much too soon which hamstrings what Skarsgård is able to do in the building of mystique and tension. Similar to Gladiator II the only actor who knows what movie their in and excels is the grizzled vet in this instance Willem Dafoe who's large wild-eyed performance compliments and accentuates the mood.
The production design- across the board- is impeccable. Intricate vibrant locations, pitch perfect beautiful costuming, an ominous creeping score. There is no doubt of writer/director Robert Eggers' skill or artistry when it comes to production(not a surprise given the first part of his career was as a production designer). But after his freshman effort The Witch his screenwriting, casting, and ability to work with actors has been not bad but certainly inconsistent. And that is certainly the case here with the ultimate result clearly being negatively influenced by a protracted development and production disruptions by COVID and the actors/writers strikes.
A rather hollow tone poem caught between conventional narrative and artistic ambition.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Stream It.
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