Shadow of the Vampire posits (fictionally, I suppose I ought to emphasize) that Nosferatu is so realistic because the star, Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), is an actual vampire. Murnau (John Malkovich) offers him a starring role in the movie (along with other, less savory inducements) in exchange for Schreck's promise that he will not harm Murnau's film crew... a promise Schreck has trouble keeping. But the despotic, megalomaniacal Murnau doesn't care about the loss of life, only about how it affects his shooting schedule.
Shadow comes across like a Young Frankenstein that has a message to impart. The message is not terribly interesting -- mainly that the camera sucks life from actors the way vampires suck blood -- but the movie is hilarious, far funnier than the trailer suggests. Most of the credit goes to Willem Dafoe, who looks convincingly decayed and resembles a giant bat when he folds his hands across his chest. He hams it up like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, in grand silent film style, yet he creates a character, not a caricature. As entertaining as his exaggerated snarls are, the way his eyes light up at the prospect of being on film is funnier still -- he's thrilled at being the center of attention. One scene sums up his character: the producer (Udo Kier) and the writer (Aden Gillett), understandably skeptical, teasingly ask him for his reactions to Bram Stoker's Dracula (Nosferatu is, of course, based on Dracula, but Stoker's estate wouldn't give Murnau permission to use the novel, so he changed the title and renamed the main character Count Orlock). Schreck grumbles that the saddest thing about the book for him was that Dracula had no servants. It's a line designed to get a laugh, and it does, but as he explains the loneliness of the count's life, it becomes unexpectedly touching. That blend of humor and sentiment makes him more than just a one-note joke.
Which is more than I can say for John Malkovich. His Murnau is one-dimensional, and once you get the point that he's as much, if not more, of a monster as Schreck, that's about all there is to his character. He works well opposite Dafoe, though, at a level of confrontation that reminded me of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski in My Best Fiend (probably not by coincidence, Herzog and Kinski remade Nosferatu). The supporting cast is generally unremarkable, except for Eddie Izzard (wearing slightly less makeup than usual), who's very entertaining as Gustav, the actor who plays Thomas Hutter. The expressions on his face in the scenes he has to act with Schreck are hilarious.
The movie is shot in a fairly workmanlike manner, but the way they handle the scenes filmed for Nosferatu is neatly done: they move the iris in and fade to black and white, then fade back to color when Murnau shouts, "End!" I've never seen Nosferatu, so I don't know how rigidly these scenes adhere to the actual film. One review I read called them exact recreations; one Stephen read said they capture none of the artistry. We get a suitably dramatic and evocative introduction to Schreck/Count Orlock, though -- it's his first scene in Nosferatu and the first time the cast and crew see him, too. Gustav advances cautiously into a pitch-black tunnel when, from the gloom, Schreck gradually comes into view as though materializing from the dark itself. He creates palpable menace before he says a word or moves a muscle.
The ending is less than ideal -- suddenly it tries to become a horror film instead of a comedy -- but overall this is highly enjoyable. Highly recommended.
File under "things only I would care about": You can add Shadow of the Vampire to the short list of movies featuring ferrets, which includes The Big Lebowski, Kindergarten Cop, and The Beastmaster. The poor little ferret here meets arguably the worst fate of any of the critters in the other films -- he's dinner for Schreck one night when no crew member is available.
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