February 10, 2007 (Kevin McDonough / SouthCoastToday.com) - "Masterpiece Theatre" throws longtime viewers a curve ball with a surprising new version of "Dracula." This is not so much a faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel as a meditation on some of the darker undertones of the Victorian era that produced it.

Marc Warren plays the dark count in a black wig and with the sensual swagger of an androgynous rock star. But his performance is not the only aspect of the movie that will give "Dracula" purists pause. The vampire arrives in England at the behest of an occult conspiracy that dupes the dour Lord Holmwood (Dan Stevens) into thinking that their blood ritual can cure him of the dreaded venereal disease that sent both of his parents howling to their graves. The fact that Holmwood wants to purify himself before consummating his marriage to Lucy Westenra (Sophia Myles) leaves the voluptuous lass open to the vampire's amorous embrace.

Nearly every screen version of "Dracula" has been shot through with metaphors about disease, sex and repression, but this one puts its thematic cards on the table. Dracula even talks of his arrival in London as a first step in world domination by the undead.

If you're looking for the typical "Masterpiece Theatre" presentation of Dickens, Austen or Thackeray unfolding over nine hours in six weeks, you are out of luck. "Dracula" proceeds at a galloping pace and is over before you know it. This occasionally requires the cast to spit out rather incredible dialogue to keep the story moving. Some may quibble and find this closer to "Dark Shadows" than "Bleak House," but I rather like the fact that even a well-established institution like "Masterpiece Theatre" can take a chance on something different.

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Posted by Vladimir Tue, 04/03/2007 - 22:14

 

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