Dracula: A Love Tale Offers Piercing Potential But Ends In A Dull Nibble

Dracula: A Love Tale attempts to sink its fangs into the age-old vampire legend by providing a romantic twist.  Directed by Luc Besson, the film begins with promise with Caleb Landry Jones delivering a fierce performance as Vlad.  The backstory: Vlad’s devotion to his wife, the devastation of war and a man driven by a love so obsessive even Nosferatu might say "Dude, chill."  Then there’s Matilda De Angelis as Maria, a patient in the insane asylum who is equal parts unsettling and strangely endearing.  It is at this exact point that the film shifts from a auspicious exploration of all-consuming love into an uneven mess.  Cue a ridiculous perfume montage, a hot chocolate obsession, and Christoph Waltz who is all to keen on displaying the same stale acting prowess that made him a star.  By the time Vlad fully transitions into Dracula I felt as if I have been thrust back into Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with its flair for overacting and wobbly accents.  I must admit I feel the tragedy.  Luc Besson once delivered electrifying cinema with La Femme Nikita and Léon: The Professional, and now he’s resigned to directing movies with poorly CGI’d gargoyles fighting in Dracula’s castle.  One can’t help but wonder whether Besson can ever reach those creative peaks again.  Although Dracula: A Love Tale delivers anemotionally driven opening it quickly loses focus and quite plainly…sucks.