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Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs  I'm not sure whether a different actor playing Ellen would've made a lot of difference, whether Anya Taylor-Joy or anyone else. I was very impressed with Lily Rose Depp and feel the part needed someone who was strong and vulnerable, and Depp was more than capable of meeting that challenge.
Although Ellen is the emotional centre of the film, I think the film was more dependent on the male actors, particularly those playing Count Orlok, Thomas Hutter, Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz, Knock, and Wilhelm Sievers. In these roles, Bill Skarsgard (with an exceptionally deep voice), Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, Simon McBurney, and Ralph Inerson all very good.
Simon McBurney probably had a wonderful time as the Renfield-inspired Knock, from going about his business with a little twitch to biting (seemingly live) animals, and babbling incoherently whilst cavorting naked on top of a Transylvania/Satanic symbol. Equally, although I didn't think he was channelling/ apeing Anthony Hopkins, I loved William Defoe's outcast scientist, who uses is knowledge of the occult to decipher the ancient writings and find the source of Nosferatu and lead the hunt to find Count Orlok. |
Yes, that's a radical change from the original and although I was disappointed the film didn't change enough, I think this was a slightly retrograde step. The new film has been praised for having a feminist view, but in the original Ellen had no need of men to take on Orlok. They were pretty ineffectual. And whilst in the new film Ellen again gets to make the ultimate sacrifice, the greater involvement of the men slightly dilutes the solitary triumph of the original. This is a minor quibble though. I doubt 99% of film's audience have even seen the original.
I guess if you put Hopkins and Dafoe side by side the characters would be different. I just thought Dafoe's broad playing was out of kilter with the rest of the cast in the film.
I agree, the character of Knock was a standout.