This one was a revisit for me, as I saw it on the big screen in 2000, but it was playing on Encore. In brief, it's a fantastical viewing of the making of the original vampire flick, Nosferatu.
In short, the premise - what if the movie was more real than any of us could ever have imagined? John Malkovich plays Murnau, the director of what would become the legendary film. He has read Stoker's novel Dracula and intends on making his own version of the work. He drags his German crew to the back country of Eastern Europe, including the goddess-actress Greta (in a fun role by Catherine McCormack). He advises his crew that he has found an actor of such talent that he will always be in character, and they will film by night to advance the mood.
But all is not as it seems. For Murnau has found a man, Count Orlock/Max Schreck. For here, in this man (impeccably played by Willem Dafoe), Murnau has found the real vampire, surviving past centuries and such changes in circumstances. Murnau makes him a deal - star in the picture, and you get Greta.
The movie is all about the two leads - it is impossible to say who is the hero and who the villain, reflecting life in so many ways. Can a monster, old and fatigued but still strong in his villainy, be made to live in society (when in the first scene, Schreck asks "I'd like some make-up" when his co-star gets touched up)? Or should he enjoy his fate, damn the consequences (Murnau responds coldly to Schreck's request with a curt "You don't get any make-up," spurring Schreck's bloodlust)?
It's a pairing of great actors that is rarely seen (DeNiro/Pacino in Heat, Freeman/Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy, Malkovich/Eastwood in In the Line of Fire), where neither tries to outdo the other, just help lift each other to such heights that will live on.
Sadly, this film didn't reach the audience that perhaps it deserves. Netflix it (and move it to the top of the list) or TiVO it - but don't miss it.
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