Immortality
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Movie Reviews of Immortality
Movie Review: A Worthwhile Addition to the Genre
Summary: 3 Stars
Jude Law is hard not to like. Even when he's the bad guy, which he arguably is in this movie. He plays a vampire...of sorts. He has no fangs, but this doesn't stop him from biting ladies' necks...or chewing them. Law's vampire feeds on women whom he has first led to fall in love with him. For his survival, he needs the emotions they carry in their blood. Not all these emotions, of course, are nourishing, so after each feeding he coughs up a little mineral sliver about the size of a bobby pin, which he labels and lovingly files away with his other records of his love. He picks up Lowensohn (who played a vampire herself in the interminably boring movie "Nadja"), with whom he appears to fall in love. Or does he? This remains ambiguous. Like Lowensohn's character, we can't know for sure.
There is surprisingly little gruesome violence in this one, though. A couple of scenes are uncomfortably gory, and one of them is entirely gratuitous. For some reason, filmmakers chose to keep a scene in which Elena Lowensohn's character performs a tracheotomy on a construction worker. It's a nasty, bloody scene that is meant to show us...what, her resourcefulness? If so, it is a character trait that is pointedly developed, but to no further end.
Still, there is a certain, interesting tension maintained throughout. Both actors are enjoyable to watch, and the subterfuge between Grlscz and the police is cleverly, uniquely handled. This movie is an enjoyable addition to the vampire genre.
Movie Review: A decent attempt...
Summary: 3 Stars
I like Jude Law. It seems like what gets forgotten when women are gushing about his looks is that he's a really great actor. He has enormous range and I've never been let down by his performance, and this movie didn't change my opinion.
I also think Elina Löwensohn is delightful. She's cute, but not in a conventional way, and that makes her interesting.
Still, good talent couldn't save this movie. "Immortality" is basically a vampire story without any of the trappings of your typical vampire tale. Jude Law, the vampire, is not afraid of the sun. He has a reflection. On the surface, he's just an eccentric guy living in London and seducing women.
Elina Löwensohn is a tough engineer, and in her Law meets his match. The plot of the movie focuses on their love affair and the tension that builds as you wonder if she'll survive. A secondary plot revolves around a police detective who's discovered on of Law's victims and has become suspicious of him.
The problem is that the two plotlines don't really tie together, and that seems to be a theme for the entire movie. The film can't decide what it wants to be. Sometimes it seems like an erotic thriller, similar to "The Hunger." At other times it's trying to be a tragic romance. There's even a bit of philosophy and action thrown into the mix. Ultimately, the movie is interesting and the acting is great, but it doesn't leave you feeling satisfied.
Movie Review: Beautiful, but needs more...
Summary: 3 Stars
I happened upon this movie by browsing the video store aisles, and wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful art direction...Jude's character is slightly reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter in the second installment of the series, cultured and mostly restrained and inward, surrounding himself with beauty but still seemingly unfulfilled in his desires. I felt that the movie's overall premise, which seemed to be a vampire searching for the one love that will stop his cycle of neverending birth (stated poignantly by the anecdote, at beginning and end, about his boyhood story of clinging desperately to a tree, before falling), was good, but the follow through was disappointing.
The interplay between Jude's character (which he plays brilliantly, in silence and gesture, and with words - in otherwords, anyone else would have made this movie rotten tomatoes) and the police detective is very intriguing, but wasn't developed enough to make the movie more interesting.
The one blatant ripoff I found amusing was the elevator sequences, which are taken directly from a much better movie, Angel Heart.
But overall I would recommend this as one-time viewing, especially for Law fans. Much potential, but just not satisfying enough for repeat viewing.
Movie Review: HANDSOME PSYCHOTHRILLER HIDES OVERDRAWN HOKUM
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw this film under the international title of "The Wisdom of Crocodiles", which is a much more apt descriptor for this visually suave, emotionally semi-philosophical dive into vampire (or was it?) land. A brave film if nothing else. The narrative is effortlessly constructed to intrigue, with some very decent writing. Especially in a scene with an innocuous looking Jude Law walking with a police constable, tossing around semi-baked ideas of the blurry lines that divides Good vs. Evil in the hearts of men. The soundtrack supports the superb screenplay immaculately.
Problem is, apart from dragging for the last half an hour, the movie ultimately leaves a taste of pointlessness. The entire narrative hinges on whether or not Law is a vampire, simply because we need to know why he acts the way he does. In the absence of that, it is merely a slow-paced tale of poof. Some dialogue about love and life is pretty competent, but the ending comes and goes without any sort of a clue as to what we've been watching.
Great actors and splendid camerawork squandered on something someone obviously thought was very clever and subtle. It is not.
Movie Review: An Unusual Horror Film
Summary: 3 Stars
Immortality or also known as "The Wisdom of Crocodiles" is an unusual approach to the old tale of a vampire who suffers from a chronic disorder:
Mortality and the thirst for blood. The main character played by Jude Law
provides an interesting character of both human and monster. And the story
it self provides enough entertaining value to keep the viewer interested in the story. All actors show their talents and make the story line believable. Although the pace of the plot appears to move a little on the slow side, it is at least worth 3 stars for the fan of horror and terror films.