The Count vants more than blood in Luc Besson’s new “Dracula” film. He’s out for love.
Besson dandifies the vampire. The Gothic creature has been reiterated so many times and ubiquitously inhabits our collective consciousness, but this time around he’s romancing in ostentatious outfits and scintillating perfume.
Besson, a French director best known for “Léon: The Professional,” “The Fifth Element” and “Lucy,” is a seminal member of the French du look movement, which is marked by bright colors, heavy stylization and urban settings. In his latest, da count is du look. Besson talks to The Knockturnal about steeping the beloved in his unique style, setting the story in his home country and working with his all star cast.
One such all star is Christoph Waltz, who admits to The Knockturnal that he finds the original Bram Stoker book “boring.” He plays a version of Stoker’s Abraham van Helsing, the famed doctor and vampire hunter. Known simply as “the priest,” Waltz’s character is a cunning expert who commands the respect of his friends and enemies alike with his competence mixed with a touch of dramatic flair. Sound familiar? Yes, Waltz has played roles like this before, from a Bond villain to the main antagonist in “Inglorious Basterds” to the good guy in “Django Unchained.” Waltz reflects on this typecasting and the roles he likes to play.
Despite the gore and vampire-slaying, the film is first and foremost a love story. Besson wanted the romance front and center, which required chemistry from his leads. Caleb Landry Jones and Zoë Bleu gave him exactly that. The two actors talk to The Knockturnal about getting the sparks flying on the screen. They also talk about their relationship with Besson, whom Jones worked with on the film “Dogman.” Bleu’s mother Rosanna Arquette worked with Besson on his early career French hit “The Big Blue.” They joke that the director likes not just working with his usual roster of actors but their offspring too. Bleu swears it wasn’t planned that way.
“Dracula” is now playing in theaters.
