Genre films often are often relegated to the margins, ill-considered by many critics favouring more “serious” cinema. But as Robert Eggers demonstrates in Nosferatu, in the hands of a truly skilled filmmaker, genre has the potential to provide the entry point to something truly astounding. A modern take on the classic 1922 silent film by F.W. Murnau, the director’s most recent work serves as a remarkable culmination of the talent he has honed over his already impressive filmography.
With Nosferatu, Eggers once again demonstrates himself to be an impressive builder of worlds, building on the scope of films like The Witch and The Lighthouse to take the audience on a journey through nineteenth century Germany, the snowy mountains of Transylvania, and into the heart of darkness itself. Having worked as a production designer for many years, he brings a painterly sensibility to his films, and seems determined to push the boundaries of practical filmmaking in an age of overreliance on digital trickery. Having long felt that a lazy dependence on computer generated imagery has drained so much of the magic from the viewing experience today, it is a pleasure to behold the modern possibilities still afforded by good old fashioned analog craftsmanship.
Shot on 35mm, the film is sublimely beautiful, and rendered in an astonishingly layered palette of black and gray. Building on the aesthetic of their previous work, Eggers and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke have developed a collective visual style which, while always distinctive, has matured into something truly artful to behold. Their treatment of darkness and shadow is something richer and more beautiful than one might imagine, and vital in a film that takes place nearly entirely within it. To be sure, it is a challenge to maintain visual interest in a film that is plunged into darkness for such a significant portion of its running time, but the pair are more than up to the task.
It is interesting to note that in modernizing this classic film, Eggers chose to return to more traditional technical practices, with his performers going much the same route. As Ellen Hutter, a young newlywed with a mystical link to the vampiric Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard), Lily Rose Depp turns in an absolutely astounding physical performance that needs to be seen to be believed. Foregoing any kind of digital enhancement, Depp worked with a movement coach and immersed herself in the traditional Japanese dance style of Butoh in order to affectingly depict her character’s demonic possession. Skarsgard, for his part, though rendered physically unrecognizable with the help of prosthetics, manages to modulate his voice into something totally otherworldly, completely under his own power. I was shocked to learn that the sound emanating the actor was achieved by working with an operatic voice coach, and free of any digital enhancement. Thoroughly committed to their craft, Depp and Skarsgard remind us of the power of a truly gifted performer to bring even the most unearthly character to life.
So impressive are Depp and Skarsgard in the film that it would be easy to overlook the work of the supremely talented supporting cast. Admittedly, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin sputter about with little to do, but as Hutter’s devoted husband Thomas, Nicholas Hoult is an always welcome presence, and his hallucination-laden journey into the deep Transylvanian woods is a wild and terrifying ride laced through with genuine pathos. Simon McBurney turns in a brief but wildly memorable performance as Thomas’ duplicitous boss Herr Knock, and by the time Willem Dafoe turns up as eccentric professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, we know we’re in excellent hands for the remainder of Eggers dark adventure. As the film catapults itself to its supremely satisfying conclusion, every element, every beat feels meticulously and seamlessly realized, confidently transporting the audience to its final resting place.
With this splendidly executed work, Eggers and his performers lean into traditional artistic practice to deliver a confident and impressive contemporary interpretation of a legend already indelibly imprinted on the popular imagination, and in doing so, prove that it is not necessary to use every newfangled tool in the box to produce something that feels thoroughly modern.
Nosferatu is currently screening in cinemas across North America.
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