San Francisco; the 20th century: Louis decides to tell his tale to young reporter Daniel Malloy. This is his story...
It was the year 1791. Louis de Pointe du Lac, an owner of a plantation in New Orleans, lost his wife, his daughter, and his will to live. He invited death from whoever he meets; but it was a vampire who accepted his invitation. Lestat de Lioncourt gave Louis his life of darkness; and while he was enthralled with Lestat's undead lifestyle at first, he soon abhorred the idea of killing humans for his own sustenance. Lestat feasted on fresh, young women, gilded youths, and delicate-tasting aristocrats. Louis, on the other hand, satiated himself with rats, chickens, and dogs. Louis grew despondent, and Lestat took it upon himself to create another vampire, a child, to keep Louis company. Claudia became Louis' child, and Lestat's pupil. Under both their cares, she flourished into a well-mannered yet ruthless killer. Until the night Claudia saw a naked woman and realized she could never be like her. She was forever a child, with only her eyes to tell the years she had lived. Full of hatred for her maker, Lestat, she arranged for his death, and together, she and Louis fled to Europe, intent on finding someone of their own kind. Armand, a 4oo-year old vampire, found them and invited them to The Theatre des Vampires, where vampires pretend to be humans pretending to be vampires. Louis had questions, and Armand held the answers. Louis felt that Armand would be a better teacher than Lestat, and he longed for his company. But there was Claudia to think about. Armand did not want the girl, and the whole troupe of vampires knew that Claudia broke a vampire commandment - do not kill your own. Just when Claudia was ready to let Louis go to Armand, having found a companion of her own, she and Louis were captured and sentenced to suffer for the death of a vampire: Louis, to spend eternity in a box; Claudia and her 'mother', imprisoned and exposed to the sun. Armand was able to rescue Louis, and when Louis was about to rescue Claudia, saw that he was too late. The 'mother and daughter' were reduced to ashes. Enraged, Louis burned the theatre and the vampires within. Having lost his only reason for living, Louis wandered Europe alone. In 1988, he returned to New Orleans and marvelled at the changes the world unravelled before his eyes. Within the confines of a rotting house, he saw a weak Lestat. Lestat invited him back, but Louis refused.
This vampire craze (with the release of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga, and the movie adaptation out in theatres now) got me bringing out my copy of Interview with the Vampire. I will not dwell on the similarities and differences of the vampires according to Anne Rice and those of Meyer's. I will instead focus on what I thought of this particular movie, as it should be. First off, I honestly thought Tom Cruise was an oddity, cast-wise. There are a lot more who could portray Lestat as brilliantly as he should be portrayed. And when pitted together with the stellar, although short-lived, performance of Antonio Banderas, who played Armand, Cruise's lags far behind. As for Brad Pitt's Louis, I thought he was ok. He had his moments of glory but not so when he tries to bring forth the central theme which seemed to be the endless sadness of vampirism. And when you're asked to play this most important part, an 'ok' performance is not good enough. The biggest, and most delightful, surprise was Kirsten Dunst who played Claudia. She held her own court among a sea of famous and talented actors.
Now to the movie's plot. I'm not an Anne Rice reader, neither do I see myself as one in the near future. But I was fascinated with this movie because it depicts a creative look into that mystical world of vampires. More than being a mere Vampire 101, this movie digs deeper into the life of one vampire, who suddenly had moral issues regarding his vampirism. I see this movie as a double standard: for the movie-goers who aren't satisfied with merely being entertained by the movie they have to delve on the philosophical; and for those who couldn't care less about the philosophy talk and content themselves with determining whether the movie is worth their time or not. I was saddened with the life, or lack of it, that Louis was led into by Lestat. People are drawn to vampires, their beauty, strength, and sophistication. But when given the choice between death and eternal life of sadness, isn't death a welcome respite?
I rest my quill.
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