Dracula: A Love Tale Review: Luc Besson’s Bloody Valentine
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Luc Besson has returned to the director's chair with Dracula: A Love Tale, a film that desperately wants to be the definitive romantic retelling of Bram Stoker’s classic. Starring the eccentric Caleb Landry Jones as the titular Count and the always-reliable Christoph Waltz as a vampire-hunting priest, this adaptation is currently haunting theaters. Besson, known for The Fifth Element, seems to be aiming for the operatic heights of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 masterpiece. The result, however, is a strange cocktail of high ambition and confusing execution that focuses heavily—perhaps too heavily—on the "love" in the title.
Caleb Landry Jones delivers a performance that is undeniably committed, even if it feels a bit moist. I’m serious—there is a lot of spit and wet hair involved here. He plays a weepier, more lovesick Dracula than we’re used to seeing. While Gary Oldman oozed dangerous charisma, Jones often comes across like a brooding emo kid who just needs a hug. That said, Christoph Waltz is the absolute MVP. Whether he’s officially Van Helsing or just "Priest," he brings a cool, confident swagger that grounds the film whenever it threatens to float away into absurdity. He is a scene-stealer in the truest sense, commanding the screen with a wit that the rest of the script sorely lacks.
Visually, the film is a chaotic mixed bag that leaves you wondering where the budget went. It clearly aspires to the gothic grandeur of Coppola’s version, but often lands closer to a "Temu" knock-off. The practical sets sometimes look fantastic, but they clash violently with green screen backdrops that feel flatter than a stage play. It’s a distracting aesthetic that pulls you out of the 19th-century immersion. We are left with a film that looks like a masterpiece one minute and a high-budget cartoon the next. Is this stylistic whiplash a bold artistic choice or just a mess? Okay, let’s get into some mild spoilers.
