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Neil Jordan followed the success of THE CRYING GAME with this adaptation of Anne Rice’s bestselling horror novel. It actually wasn’t his first foray into horror having made the fairy tale-infused chiller THE COMPANY OF WOLVES in 1984. While INTERVIEW doesn’t have the scares of a typical horror film, it does contain some of the existential dread that classic horror contained, as well as the best romanticized version of the vampire myth to hit the screen.

In the 1700s, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt, 12 MONKEYS) was already a successful plantation owner at the age of 24. However, his wealth was unable to ease the pain of the death of his wife and child; he longed for death. This is when Lestat de Lioncourt came into his life and offered him “the choice he never had.” Lestat said he could ease Louis’s pain by making him a vampire, but in losing his life, Louis doesn’t lose his humanity, and struggles with drinking the blood of humans.

Lestat is a manipulator and wants Louis not only as a companion but as a bridge to the modern world. When Louis begins to rebel, Lestat gives Louis a companion in the form of an orphaned girl named Claudia (Kirsten Dunset, SPIDER-MAN), whose thirst for blood is equal to Lestat. Over the centuries, life has its rough patches for the undead, and a great deal of longing. Louis, as well as Claudia, wants to learn more about where their kind originated from. In Europe, they find Armand (Antonio Banderas, DESPERADO), the oldest known vampire, but his brood of bloodsuckers looks upon Louis and the little girl with skepticism.

At the time of its release, a great deal of press was given to the fact that Rice originally hated the casting of Cruise as her beloved Lestat. In retrospect, the casting was a stroke of brilliance. While Cruise is great as an action hero, he has shined in quirkier roles that skew his movie star image. Here he not only gets to be the villain, but also plays the role with some great twisted sarcasm. Lestat is a jerk, and Cruise seems to have a knack for playing jerks — see MAGNOLIA and TROPIC THUNDER for other excellent examples.

Pitt too is better in quirkier roles. However, this one is more brooding. As the sullen Louis, he captures the inner turmoil of the character in what can be an uneven performance. It’s not his best work, but he carries the look and feel of the characters well. But Dunst does give her best work in her star-making turn. As the young vampire Claudia, she relishes in the macabre with subtle glee. There are a lot of tonal shifts in the part and she handles them like a seasoned actress. She has never been better.

At the core of the story is a romanticized take on the vampire myth. The sexuality is played up and the vampires are cast as tortured sexual beings driven by urges out of their control. The story asks, “What would a vampire feel if he had a soul?” Through Louis’s character, we see the internal struggle of a good man unwilling to embrace the taking of other’s lives for his survival, and the loneliness of immortality. But as times goes by, these immortal creatures become gods on Earth, and look upon humans as humans look upon insects.

Technically the film is lush. The costumes and production design create a grand gothic tableau that fits the vampire tale perfectly. The pale make-up and subtle veins make the bloodsuckers look otherworldly. The crystal blue contacts given Pitt make Louis equal parts haunting and unsettling.

Casting vampires as dark tragic anti-heroes didn’t originate with Rice, but none have done it as well. In the film version, the erotic elements of the myth are played like a romance novel without getting too tawdry. Along with Francis Ford Coppola’s DRACULA, the screen vampire hasn’t been more sympathetic. INTERVIEW embraces our fascination with the vampire and plays on our curiosity. The entire story is told through a framework where Louis recalls his life to reporter Daniel Malloy, played by Christian Slater. Malloy’s reaction to Louis’s tale says a lot about himself as well as the audience. The vampire both repulses us and draws us in at the same time, and that’s why they are so compelling.

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