Interview with the VampireSuppose a vampire approached you--not to feed on you or make you his companion, but to tell you his story; would you listen? Interview with the Vampire is a gothic drama about the Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt), the eponymous vampire who seeks out the journalist Daniel Molloy (Christian Slater) for a moment of his time. The melancholy Louis tells the story of his "birth into darkness" as an immortal predator and creature of the night, at the hands of the haughty Lestat de Lioncourt (Tom Cruise) two centuries earlier--and of the complicated and confusing transition into his new life after death.
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Interview with the Vampire is an inside look at the secret lives of these fashionably pale bloodsuckers. Louis recounts the tragic depression that overtook him after the death of his wife and unborn child at the end of the 18th century, living as a plantation owner in New Orleans. Lestat takes his all-consuming despair as an invitation to death, and perverts his desire to his own ends by making him into a vampire. Despite Lestat's arrogance, he longs for companionship--a theme in Interview with the Vampire. Louis feels emotionally isolated prior to his transformation, which leads him into a world of darkness. Although explored more in Anne Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles"--which was the inspiration for this film--Lestat also suffers from the loneliness and ennui inherent in his unique form of immortality. Louis struggles with his new identity, objecting to killing people paradoxically born from a newfound respect for human life, while Lestat tries to coach his protegee in the art of feeding on them. The variations between Louis and Lestat showcase opposite ends of the undead spectrum. Louis is grim, moral, brooding, and virile, while Lestat is cynical, cultured, decadent, and effete. Louis ultimately compromises his convictions out of desperation, but Lestat treats the killing as sport, displaying a psychopathic lack of empathy. Louis represents an alternative, even romantic, kind of vampire--he is reluctant to harm others, and is tormented by the curse that flows within his veins. Despite their differences that put them at each other's throats, it is because of their differences that they are suited for and compliment one another. The craving for fresh blood--which Louis describes to Daniel as an "unfortunate necessity" of the vampire myth that is true--constantly puts Louis at odds with himself. Louis treats his urges like an addiction, and Lestat encourages him by bringing him along for his "hunts". Lestat is more powerful and more experienced than Louis, and leverages his knowledge to bind Louis to him. He also does this by converting a young plague victim named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), knowing that Louis's sympathetic nature and longing for family will keep them together, caring for the eternally childlike vampire. Yet Lestat fails to consider that Claudia matures intellectually with age, despite her doll-like body, giving her an edge when she eventually betrays Lestat with Louis as her silent accomplice. As they flee to Europe, Claudia declares that they are "free"; yet for Louis, the existential oblivion travels with him.
Louis and Claudia search Europe for other vampires, which draws the attention of the shadowy Armand (Antonio Banderas), who leads a coven of theatrical vampires that put on performances in the catacombs beneath the Parisian streets. Louis's search for an elder vampire like Armand comes from his desire to understand who he is at a fundamental level--it is a question about himself which he should know that Armand cannot answer for him. What defines Louis is his reluctance to accept his new lifestyle and how he has never been at home with who he is. He is philosophical in his formative years, seeking knowledge about what makes him who he is and why, and always questioning the arbitrary rules that curtail his freedom as an immortal. A lead performer in Armand's theater named Santiago (Stephen Rea) lectures Louis and Claudia that the only thing they consider a crime is "killing one of their own", referring to other vampires. Louis begins to sympathize with Lestat at this point; he understands that he has crossed the threshold into immortality, and the only morality he can be judged by is his own. Louis challenges the inviolability of this "law" at the climax of Interview with the Vampire, when he carves his way through his own kind with a scythe like Death itself. This image of Louis as a reaper of souls foreshadows the impartial and stoic creature who approaches Daniel in the first place, reminiscent of the manifestation of Death from The Seventh Seal. Louis returns home to America with a deeper understanding of himself, and wiser from his time with Lestat and Armand. He accepts himself as an impassive, primal force, almost always speaking in low tones and with a sureness that comes with wisdom; Louis has become the embodiment of the death he sought centuries before.
Recommended for: Fans of a gothic drama about vampires that builds on the genre by introducing tragically romantic, existential angst--embodied in Louis--into the mythology. Interview with the Vampire boasts a cast of young and talented actors, lavish costumes and set design, and plenty of fangs and neck-biting throughout.
Louis and Claudia search Europe for other vampires, which draws the attention of the shadowy Armand (Antonio Banderas), who leads a coven of theatrical vampires that put on performances in the catacombs beneath the Parisian streets. Louis's search for an elder vampire like Armand comes from his desire to understand who he is at a fundamental level--it is a question about himself which he should know that Armand cannot answer for him. What defines Louis is his reluctance to accept his new lifestyle and how he has never been at home with who he is. He is philosophical in his formative years, seeking knowledge about what makes him who he is and why, and always questioning the arbitrary rules that curtail his freedom as an immortal. A lead performer in Armand's theater named Santiago (Stephen Rea) lectures Louis and Claudia that the only thing they consider a crime is "killing one of their own", referring to other vampires. Louis begins to sympathize with Lestat at this point; he understands that he has crossed the threshold into immortality, and the only morality he can be judged by is his own. Louis challenges the inviolability of this "law" at the climax of Interview with the Vampire, when he carves his way through his own kind with a scythe like Death itself. This image of Louis as a reaper of souls foreshadows the impartial and stoic creature who approaches Daniel in the first place, reminiscent of the manifestation of Death from The Seventh Seal. Louis returns home to America with a deeper understanding of himself, and wiser from his time with Lestat and Armand. He accepts himself as an impassive, primal force, almost always speaking in low tones and with a sureness that comes with wisdom; Louis has become the embodiment of the death he sought centuries before.
Recommended for: Fans of a gothic drama about vampires that builds on the genre by introducing tragically romantic, existential angst--embodied in Louis--into the mythology. Interview with the Vampire boasts a cast of young and talented actors, lavish costumes and set design, and plenty of fangs and neck-biting throughout.