Ferrara then went on to direct a number of little known feature films and do some television work, including directing two episodes of Miami Vice in the mid 80’s. From here he pulled himself out of general obscurity in 1990 and for the first six years of that decade he directed well known, edgy dramas and thrillers which gained cult status and in some case enraged the viewing public. Starting with the underrated King of New York, a bleak, dark, dank tale of a mob boss Frank White played by Farrara favourite Christopher Walken, returning to New York from prison to re-establish his rule over the criminal underworld, killing off his competitors and avoiding assassination by corrupt cops. A film devoid of good guys, hope, or justice - in Ferrara’s world, there is only crime. Next he directed Harvey Keitel in The Bad Lieutenant in 1992 which featured a drug and gambling addicted police officer investigating the rape of a nun. Shot in eighteen days, it is a good example of how Ferrara operates; like Werner Herzog he shoots on the run (an appropriate comparison as Herzog is directing the remake of Bad Lieutenant due out in 2009), there is never a sense that his shots have been endlessly planed or that weeks have been spent on costume design, and the results are often fresh and raw. In 1993 he moved to the horror SiFi genre with his remake of The Body Snatchers, which was genuinely creepy at times if suffering from some truly dreadful chroma keying for the penultimate scene which spoils the enjoyment of the films downbeat climax. After this, Ferrara took what was considered by many a major misstep with Dangerous Game, starring Madonna in the leading role. In ’96 he made The Funeral which received mixed reviews but I personally consider The Funeral to be one of his best films which featured powerhouse performances from Chris Penn and Christopher Walken, shocking acts of violence and a wholly depressing storyline, clearly this wasn’t for everyone but it remains the last great film he’s made. In ’97 he made The Blackout which was more a less universally panned; in the eleven years which have followed he’s not directed anything of major interest, and has again fallen into obscurity, perhaps in 2010 he’ll have a career comeback like King of New York before, this time with a prequel to that film starring Michael Pitt - we shall see how this fairs – can the one time master of the dark and disturbing recapture his earlier magic and mood?
Taylor is effective in portraying Kathleen’s transition from timid grad student who only speaks about what’s irritating her in the world to her best friend in private - to a fully formed predator of the night. This transition is depicted realistically regardless of the development being beyond the realms of reality. Later as Kathleen struggles with her addiction and goes cold turkey; Taylor’s performance doesn’t let up. Like a heroin addict her entire body needs to drink blood, needs another victim. Where Taylor seems to slip a little is in the middle of the film, where for what ever reason, her deliveries fall flat. But this flaw is soon repaired by the appearance of Christopher Walken as an older vampire who’s since given up the addiction, Walken is only present for a few of the films scenes and is not much more then an extended cameo, but a terrific and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny cameo. Walken is clearly enjoying himself, and maximising his own, sinister persona. He only appears half way through, but he very clearly indicates a shift in confidence within the films narrative, a film which might have failed without his re-energised screen presence as heads into its bloodbath final set-piece with absolute abandon.
The Film critic for The Guardian newspaper Peter Bradshaw voted this his number one film of all time in the Sight and Sound top film poll of 2002, of all the critics and film makers who took part in that poll he was the only participant to vote for this film at all let alone in the number one spot. A brave choice to make in a poll where the obvious choices are the likes of Citizen Kane which has topped both the directors list and the critics list every ten years for the past forty years. Although I don’t hold this film in that high esteem, I can see how Bradshaw got hooked (no pun intended) on its potent mix of philosophy and violence, the mood of the film is truly unique, as is its flamboyant vocabulary and borderline indulgent philosophical posturing. To quote the film: “To face what we are in the end, we stand before the light and our true nature is revealed. Self-revelation is annihilation of self.” An oblique reference to the mirror perhaps, the mirror through which a vampire can’t see herself, or more importantly a mirror that an individual might cover-up were they no longer comfortable with their self image. Earlier in the film Kathleen states: “Essence is revealed through praxis. The philosopher’s words, his ideas his actions, can not be separated from his value, his meaning. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it? Our impact on other egos.” This is perhaps St. John and Ferrara commenting on their own works by proxy in a rather esoteric fashion, the notion that the philosopher has no truth through direct statement would be supported by this films statement through metaphor. So what is it trying to say? A comment on the depravity of the world? The decent into a far truer Hell than that written in the bible, addiction is the work of the devil and a lonely metropolis like New York is actually hell. More over The Addiction also makes several comments on the nature of sin and evil; the nurture verses nature debate is also brought to the surface. One vampire states in the film: “Seventh Circle, Dante described it perfectly. Bleeding trees waiting for Judgment Day, where we can all hang ourselves from our own branches. To find rest takes a real genius. It's all a matter of discernment. Now, R.C. Sproul said we're not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. In more accessible terms, we're not evil because of the evil we do, but we do evil because we are evil. Now what choices do such people have?” Kathleen before her transformation considered and disagreed with the concept that one man could be held accountable for all the atrocities in Vietnam, this man is related to that of Walken’s character, one man the father of all the addicted perhaps? Or are all nations and all persons accountable for the actions of one man or one nation? The Addiction has no hesitation in raising these questions and it will doubtlessly leave you pondering the answers for some time to come, if indeed there are any answers to be had. M. Dawson |
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The Director: Abel Ferrara is a peculiarity within American cinema, starting out in the late 1970’s, his first feature film The Driller Killer was one of the infamous video nasties which was heavily cut both in the UK and the US upon release and then subsequently banned in the UK after a change in the law in 1984. His second film, Angel of Vengeance, also known as Ms. 45 followed a Mute woman as she is raped twice in one day than the takes it upon herself to randomly kill men with a .45 Caliber hand gun, hence the ridiculous American title. These two films set Ferrara up for a series of films with violence as a primary theme.
The Film: Written by long time collaborator Nicholas St. John, who also penned, The Driller Killer, Angel of Vengeance, King of New York, Body Snatchers, Dangerous Game, and The Funeral. The story is of Kathleen Conklin, played by Lili Taylor, an anthropology grad student who is working hard on her doctorate. One night she is bitten on the neck by a mystery woman played by Annabella Sciorra and soon Kathleen begins cravings blood. As Kim Newman pointed out in his review of the film in Empire Magazine on its first release, in the Bad Lieutenant the drug addicts were compared to vampires, in The Addiction - the natural extension - vampires are compared to drug addicts. This is a vampire film, no doubt about it, despite the fact that not once is the word vampire uttered in the films eighty minute run time, a similar trick would be used for British Channel 4 vampire series Ultraviolet. Taking full advantage of the pre-established folk lore of vampirism, Ferrera and St. John bend and change the rules of the vampire to fit their own twisted design. They are never explicit about their bends and changes, unlike so many films of the genre; Stephen Norrington’s Blade for example reserves a scene specifically to explain the “rules” of that particular franchise’s vampire world.
Ferrara is an east coast director, the vast majority of his films are set in his home town of New York City, like Sidney Lumet, and Woody Allen, New York is very much -part of his work. The Addiction is no exception, shot in just twenty days on location in New York, it like so many other Ferrara films feels like raw American cinema at it’s best, that’s not to say rushed, or that it lacks an exacting force, but more to imply that a sense of the unrehearsed, the unstructured, it’s not a product, but rather a living breathing work of art. There is an underlying truth to a film which is only made possible by working at the sorts of speeds Ferrara works at, there is likewise a kind of beauty to a film which can only be achieved by working as slowly as Terrance Malick or Stanley Kubrick for example; but this doesn’t concern Ferrara as beauty is unlikely to be a quality he’d wish to capture in his films. Interestingly and rather unusually The Addiction is very well shot, presented in stark black and white this is possibly, visually, his most distinctive work. It invokes the European art house film, rather than an American indie. In the U.S market, shooting in Black and White is a very brave move, but one which tonally suits this most darkest of films. It’s soundtrack for the most part works well in conjunction with the visual style, the elegance of the black and white photography is in opposition to the chaotic energy of the rap music which perforates the films soundtrack. Rap music at this point was also at odds with the Vampire genre, not the type of soundtrack which would be expected of a film of this nature, but a soundtrack which does feel completely appropriate none the less. The one misstep Ferrara unfortunately makes is his choice for opening titles music. A dire mid 90’s soul song with the title “The Addiction” in the lyrics. Was it a joke? Whatever your personal taste in music you have to admit this is a terrible choice for this film and sets us up for a cheesy, romantic drama rather than a metaphysical horror movie. The best advice I can offer on this matter is turn your TV to mute until the titles are over and the first frame of the film appears on screen, believe me silence is preferable to the drivel which is used.
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