The first time I saw a movie still from “Dark Shadows,” I immediately wanted to see this movie. I say this, despite the fact that I haven’t seen a Burton/Depp/Bonham-Carter movie since “Sweeney Todd” (I tend to fall into the camp that thinks they’re doing too much of the same thing). But then I saw the trailers for “Dark Shadows” and I decided there was no way in hell I was going to see this movie. Boy did the trailers make it look stupid.
And then, I changed my mind again; friends talked me into it by telling me that the tone was reminiscent of “Death Becomes Her,” which is one of my all time favorite movies. And so we went to the movie this weekend, and I loved it. The trailers definitely don’t match the movie. “Dark Shadows” was not stupid, it’s clever, funny, and gorgeous.
For one thing, it was nice to see Michelle Pfeiffer leading again, and her role was fantastic. It’s been a while since she impressed me. For another thing, this was my favorite Helena Bonham-Carter role since “Fight Club,” and I was glad to see that while Tim Burton might put his wife in every movie he makes, he’s not afraid to put her in a relatively small part sometimes. And for a third thing, as you can see from the following stills from the movie, it’s beautiful, and I liked it for that. These shots make me wish I had been a stylist for the movies.
All photos by this post copyright, Warner Bros.
