Review #17 - Dark Shadows

         Dark Shadows was a film I went to expecting it to be brilliant and not be able to find a single flaw in it, unfortunately there were a few things that caught my attention though so I thought I’d get them out the way and end the review on a positive note. We see early on that a key component of Barnibus Collins’ character is a lesson his father taught him early on about the importance of family yet I felt that the film focussed more on the problems surrounding the family business than the family’s dysfunctional relationships. With a mother and daughter constantly fighting, a young boy striving for his father’s attention and misunderstood by the rest of the family except a new and mysterious governess there was a lot of broken relationships to be fixed. I thought that Barnibus would be restoring the family as well as their wealth, and although he does help them in many ways, I felt that this side of things was not explored as thoroughly as it could have been. But then again with a curse, a business falling to ruins and Barnibus’ complicated love life, the plot was so full to the brim that it is no surprise that some aspects fell to the way side!

     Another unsatisfactory part of the film was the ending. Without giving too much away I hope, there were aspects that kind of felt thrown in at the last minute and didn't seem to serve a majorly important purpose. Also I felt that nothing had really been accomplished by the end, the Collins ended up in pretty much the same situation as they started in, if not worse! Generally the final scenes did not seem as well constructed as the rest of the film and I found myself waiting behind at the credits hoping some other funny scene would appear revealing what happens next, but alas no scene came. My only other minor complaint is that many of the best scenes were used in the trailer but then again that is a common occurrence these days.

   Ok on to the good things! Firstly any fans of Johnny Depp will love his brilliant performance. His love of strange and eccentric characters shines through and I loved every minute he was on screen! I particularly liked his archaic twist on modern phrases, wish I could remember some of my favourites to share with you but I’ll let you listen out for them yourselves. All the actors were great and I especially liked the husky voiced witch, Eva Green, she played the part perfectly.

   It was a really funny film and I thought the way jolly 70’s music was juxtaposed with some of the scenes was excellent and made them all the more amusing! This film was a bit of a disappointment, it could have been so much more but that doesn’t take away the fact that it is an entertaining film. It does have several criticisms but overall I enjoyed watching this film and would do so again, perhaps my only recommendation for this film is to lower your expectations and not to judge it solely on the reputation of it’s director.