Lite Shadows

Tim Burton’s new film “Dark Shadows” is based on a classic 60s soap opera of the same name that has garnered quite the cult following over the past four decades as much for its serious tone when dealing with fantastical and gothic subject matter as for its bloopers and mishaps. Burton and film star Johnny Depp were fans of the original show, and according to what is quickly becoming “legend” (simply because it has been told so many times) wanted to make a big screen version of the series they so loved as boys. While the updated film version does hit several key notes in the overall orchestral piece that was the original series, more often than not the reimaging of “Dark Shadows” is off pitch and off key.
“Dark Shadows” stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, a man turned vampire at the hands of evil witch Angelique (Eva Green) because of her jealousy over his relationship with his love Josette (Bella Heathcote, who also plays Victoria Winters). After being locked in a coffin for nearly two centuries, Barnabas is an 18th century man roaming the streets in a 20th century world, trying desperately (and as Burton would have you believe, hilariously) to grasp the changed setting around him. 
As a fan of the original series from the 1960s, and the subsequent films and remake, I could find plenty awry about this film and how much it deviates from the source material. However, because this is an updated and re-imagined version of the original series, I went in with an open mind and a hopeful heart that there would be some adequate and inspired changes that served to further enhance the great narrative that already existed. Unfortunately what I left the theater with was the longing for more of a concrete story and a steadier tone.
It’s safe to say that “Dark Shadows” is not a terrible film, but rather one that needed more of a guiding hand to help it along. An original script was written by John August and then punched up by it-writer Seth Grahame-Smith to further encapsulate the vision of the director. As a result, more humor was added to the film than was really necessary and it served only to remove the audience from what should have been an easily felt gothic atmosphere.
The first 20 to 30 minutes of the movie were simply superb, with a quick introduction to Barnabas’ family and to set up the core conflict between Barnabas and Angelique. I’ll stop here to say that the first third of the film could really have been extended just to include more interaction between Barnabas, Angelique, and Barnabas’ love Josette. The fact that things moved so quickly really give the audience genuine feelings for all involved parties, and left Angelique’s character severely underdeveloped for the rest of the film. Once the film moves to “present day”, or 1972, we follow the woman formerly known as Maggie Evans on her train ride to Collinsport where she will subsequently change her name to Victoria Winters and start working as a governess for the modern day Collins family. (A side note here to explain that Maggie Evans and Vicki Winters were two separate characters in the original series, and that for an original fan the merging of these two characters is pure brilliance). The opening credits play over the train ride to the tune of “Nights in White Satin” by The Moody Blues, which has a sort of eerily elegance that fits perfectly with the film, and alludes to the back story about “Magtoria” that we find out about later in the film.
However, once Barnabas is unleashed upon the world of 1972, the film looses all semblance of trajectory and veers wildly left and right for the remainder of its duration. Barnabas, after all, is the star of the show, and we are constantly reminded of this. His supposed-to-be hysterical observations and initial interactions with the modern world most often fall completely flat. Certainly, there were a number of chuckles in the audience at a few of Barnabas’ lines (most notably the ones about “birthing hips” and “balls”) but otherwise these gags of adaptation were just not necessary.
Where the movie falls sorely short is in story and character development. Angelique Bouchard, Barnabas’ foil throughout the film (though the argument could be made that the McDonalds sign and car were a close second and third, respectively) was the principally underdeveloped character. In the original series, and subsequent incarnations, Angelique was Barnabas’ spurned lover. She was the maid of his betrothed Josette, and after Barnabas had his dalliance’s with her, Angelique realized that Josette was considered a lady compared to herself as a lowly maid and became angered by her station and life, how it had affected her, and by Barnabas’ betrayal. Subsequently, she snapped and decided to make Barnabas pay dearly for that betrayal and attempt to move forth to the high classes of society. What the film achieves for her character is that she does eventually (with 200 years of work) become the mightiest and richest citizen in Collinsport. However, given the condensed version of the above story that we get in the prologue of the movie, the exact motivation of the character is not explicitly clear. Instead, she seems like a completely crazy woman who has no sanity whatsoever. The argument could be made that a television show has much more time to flesh out a character than a film, but I would argue that with an additional five minutes this could have easily been achieved.
 Elsewhere, other characters seemed to have been included simply for the sake of saying they were there. The relationship between Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Milller) and his son David (Gulliver McGrath) was another wasted opportunity. Roger is a pure scoundrel and a shitty father, leaving David all of the time to talk to his mother’s ghost.  Eventually Roger leaves Collinsport after the urging of Barnabas, and his own sister Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer). This character adds nothing but a few snarky lines to the film, and could have been completely left out.
Finally, Victoria Winters’ relationship with Barnabas was another severely lacking plot line that should have bore the brunt of the film’s story, and really driven it home. Replaced by too many scenes of Barnabas and Angelique sparring with words, and eventually fists, what should have been an intricately romantic love story was reduced to a few longing glances and some heartfelt dialogue. Why should the audience care about any of these characters if they aren’t shown to care about one another?
Although I have previous knowledge about the source material for this film and thusly draw certain conclusions that an uninitiated audience member may not, I still firmly believe that without this knowledge I would still call into question some of the inclusions of plot devices in this film. The finale feels rushed and jumbled, as if every supernatural thing possible must be thrown into the cauldron (or in this case the mansion of Collinwood) and told to have at it. While a number of interesting developments do occur here, the fact that they are all too briefly mentioned doesn’t really give the audience time to digest them or even emotionally resonate with anything. Perhaps the most poignant moment here is the realization that all of Angelique’s manipulations of the Collins family have finally come back and, pardon the pun, bitten her in the ass. 
All in all the film isn’t terrible, but it certainly could have been great given a little more attention to detail and a better story. I have a strong feeling that the original script by August was amazing because there seem to be echoes of it still left in the film. However, as a result of the inclusion of Grahame-Smith and his changes, much of what August wrote was inevitably cut in favor of what the studio and director probably felt would appeal to a broader audience, thusly making more money. This film would have undoubtedly performed well if left as it was originally written, and with a touch of Burtonesque atmosphere (which there really is no shortage of anywhere). 
Visually stunning but emotionally lacking, “Dark Shadows” sets itself up for one hell of a ride before the coaster track breaks and sets the audience down another severely mismarked path. An apparent opening at the end of the film for a sequel sets the producers up for another go-around that hopefully will focus on more character development and an addition of some extra gothic atmosphere in favor of quirks and comedic flourishes.