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VampireOutlaw
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"Queen of the Damned" (2002)
'Cause how could an adaptation get any worse?
WARNING!! A passionate fan on loose!
WARNING!!! THIS POST SPOILS THE ENTIRE FILM!!!
A.) They COMPLETELY altered the basic storyline - making it about a mortal/vampire "love" story with a relationship that isn't in the source material at all anyway, instead of adapting the actual story from the books. And their damned "love" story isn't even love but utterly illogic and forced bs with no chemistry what-so-ever and it completely ruins the- I think I'm getting off topic seeing to the point. Which was that they wrote the film script about something that isn't in the books AT ALL.
B.) In the book, Lestat was turned by a vampire named Magnus, who was a mad amn at that point. A total psycho, who also killed himself almost immediately after turning Lestat. This is VERY essential to the entire storyline. This lead Lestat around the world, turning his mother and best friend&lover Nicki into his vampire companions and they meet the vampire Armand and all kinds of important events happen before the vampire Marius comes to Lestat.
But what does that infuriating film do? They ditch Magnus and make Marius into Lestat's maker. This way there is no chance for anything mentioned above.
But then again - what the hell - they already were writing their own horrible story about the illogic and unrealistic "love" story which they also portreyed unrealistically and illogically in practical storyline.
C.) And had they only altered the maker - when looked indepthly into the books, Marius COULD be Lestat's maker and I love the idea. However, this was not the film makers's reason. They just wanted to save minutes that they were wasting on their own stupid invention. And it shows in the way they butchered Marius. In trueful vision, Marius is very loving, gentle and dedicated father-figure and friend to Lestat. Their relationship is strong, close and warm. Marius would never attack Lestat the way he does in the film version, he would never choose Lestat or anyone else for such a random and shallow reason as the film suggests, he would NEVER leave Lestat the way he does in the film and he didn't in the book. Their storyline and Marius's motives in truth are nothing like the film's. Marius in the film is seemingly cold-hearted and selfish = the total opposite of the books's Marius. And they messed up this father-son relationship so that Lestat would become lonely and suicidal and need this Jesse chick to "save him". What the-!?!?!
Damnit, in the books it's exactly because of Marius why Lestat IS strong and not suicidal at all and not exactly lonely either. Because Marius never ditched him like that. And according to Lestat's own words it's also Marius, who comforts him in the vampire life's darkness. NOT Jesse. They barely even know each other in the books.
So because they turned the Lestat&Marius relationship and storyline upside down they also turned Lestat's character upside down.
And Jesse then? In the books, she is over 30 years old, smart and sophisticated woman, who certainly doesn't seek to become a vampire. She's a psychic too. But in the film they make her into and immature teenager and an idiot who doesn't know how to stay alive and obsesses about becoming a vampire and stalks poor Lestat.
So, they have butchered Marius and Jesse. And as already pointed out, because they butchered Marius, they also automatically butchered Lestat.
D.) Akasha would never even attempt to kill Lestat nor the other way around. They loved each others way too much for that. Akasha literally says "Lestat, even if I destroyed all the men in the world, I wouldn't destroy you" and Lestat in the end battle is desperately paradoxed with his will to help Akasha but yet stay on Marius's and others's side because that's where he truly stands even if he loves Akasha. But in the film, they both tried to kill each other. Again for the damn Lestat/Jesse crap they had written. Nice going, morons.
+++ Not that it mattered anyway and especially after all that, but - no one of the characters even looked anything like they're described in the books.
IN SHORT: The film "adaptation" was about something that isn't in the books AT ALL and they completely butchered absolutely everything that they did borrow from the books, to serve that thing they invented themselves.
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GOING IN-DEPTH!
I originally posted this part to the QOTD Spot forums at Fanpop. Before we start - please remember - I do find the film entertaining and I don't think it completely sucks. Please read my post to the very end and you'll see.
Someone else said: "...and the Lestat/Jesse relationship, dont get me started, well actually im going to start. I can understand that most people like a good love story, so its good for selling, and it makes things a lot simpler, i guess it works with the script..."
It's not even a good love story - it's not even love to begin with - but it sells because people don't know that before they pay for seeing the crap and some don't see it even after that but go delusional. Unless, perhaps, if they they read criticcs first.
And one thing it doesn't do, is work with the script. Or rather, should I say, the rest of the script doesn't work with the Lestat&Jesse part, which is obviously the basic part. But then again, what the hell, the Lestat&Jesse thing in itself doesn't even work, whereas the rest of the script would've worked perfectly well without the L&J - so without the Lestat&Jesse relationship the script would've wotked perfectly! And if everythng else but the Lestat&Jesse parts were left out... it still wouldn't have worked but at least it wouldn't insult the books so much and it wouldn't look so stupid.
I feel, it is stupid to say "it's rubbish because it isn't exactly like the books" because naturally a film can not be that. It could not and it should not, be that.
But just as stupid it is to defend this particular film for anything it does, in the name of limited minutes. Sure, THEY (the film makers) naturally use that excuse but it miserably false, once people start looking at what exactly the film makers have done.
They call this an adaptation of the books and give an excuse of "limited minutes and information overload" for not adapting the books more accurately. While - They. used. most. of. the. film. with. a. relationship. that. is NOT. in. the. books. what-so-ever. They cannot use limited minutes and information over-load as an excuse for not being more accurate to the books. For leaving so much out. There is no excuse when they did what they did.
And you wish they just left out stuff. But they totally distorted and dismissed whatever they did take from the books. And why did they do that? Clearly to aim at the part that isn't in the books - the Lestat&Jesse. The film screams their desperate efforts to pair the two and they in the end do it regardless of how their storyline doesn't support it at all but the exact opposite. This making the disrespective, abusive insult towards the book even worse.
And just when you thought it couldn'r get worse, you start to really think of how ridiculous the film's story in general is independently. How ridiculous, illogic and unrealistic that so called love story is. No chemistry, no realistic storyline and everything that truly was about love and bond, in the story (and I'm talking purely about the film's story now), is in the very final scene ignored and thrown to garbage box to have their own "lovers" end up together.
Whatever could I be refering to with that?! It's a perfect love story with perfect logic, why can't I see it?! Let me just say: HA. HA. HA.
In the film, Lestat was clearly fascinated by Akasha - in the first place when he meets her as a statue and a little even when he meets her in person - and he even more clearly could not live without Marius, (with whom he has a pure father-son relationship) obsessing to find him, to get him back. Becoming suicidally depressed and being obviously deeply touched the moment Marius leaps on the stage to protect him from actually being killed. And naturally, Marius does this because he loves Lestat so much that he would risk his own life to even try to save him. He DID - there was no way he could've with absolute certainty succeded and survived alive on the stage with all those vampires surrounding them. Not even though he was an ancient. Without Akasha's appearance - they would've both been killed right there. Unless of course if they flew away, which they were both capable of but I'm certain Lestat would not agree to do that even if it was Marius telling him. Would Marius have forced him to? Probably yes - sure as hell he would not see the kid getting himself killed because of his stanima and recklessness, even if those are ones of the things in Lestat Marius strongly loves. But the point was that Marius loved Lestat enough to risk his own life to try and rescue Lestat. And I think it originates from the Bible, the very true saying that there is no greater love than to die in the place of someone else. Which naturally of course equals efforts to save someone by risking your own life.
And I wish to remind you what I already said; Lestat really, really, REALLY wanted Marius back in this film. Starting from calling for him many times even though he never got an answer, noticing and saving someone he doesn't even know, just to find out if they know marius, inteniting to kill them if they don't know Marius, well, I could go on but I think I've made my point.
But as for Jesse - his so-called sweetheart in the final scene, who he walks with, hand in hand, smiling...
...he notices and saves her life only because she mentioned Marius's name and intents to kill her when finds out she doesn't know Marius and had lied about knowing him to save her own sorry ass from her own idiotic undertaking, and knew about the man only because she had snooped around his private journal pages. Who wouldn't hate someone like that, seeing to how much Lestat loves Marius and had missed him for centuries. So he insults her with a "Your kind never satisfies my thirst.", which is why he didn't kill her after all.
Some say "she's just a little bit impulsive, not an idiot". Well, i say she's an impulsive idiot. Impulsivness is to go to a vampire nightclub alone, as a mortal being b/c you wanna know more and idiocy is to do so without anything to defend yourself with. Some also say "by reading the book I think Lestat was perfectly capable of doing that himself so why the hell hate someone for that?" I don't think Lestat was ever capable of doing that exactly. Let's think about the books for a sec then. The wolves for example: He left for the hunt alone because there was no one else in his village capable of it and he felt it was his responsibility, so it wasn't even impulsiveness. He had a horse, two good hunting dogs and numerous guns with him. And no fear whatsoever, which feeling was an alien to him. But was fear alien to Jesse? No - she was terrified and uncomfortable in the club and so had to improvise by lying her soul out and then she ran like a little girl and then would've been totally killed if Lestat hadn't saved her beause of her lie. Lestat on his behalf in the wolf hunt did what he came to do - killed the wolves and even though he almost got killed himself, he survived because of his own stanima and bravery.
Lestat in the books being hopelessly reckless, as in for example bracking to Gabrielle how he would've beaten one of the attacking vampires that were hunting them in the end even though he probably was more close to dying himself? And Gabrielle said "Monsieur, you are an imp. You're impossible. What did Marius himself say? The damnedest creature." Lestat had Louis and Gabrielle there to help him plus he thought Marius was somewhere out there nearby, protecting him too, so of course his attitude was that. And teh Akasha/Enkil statue incident... He sincerely thought nothing would happen and it wa spotentially true. No one smart thinks 'nothing will happen' if they stick their nose to a vampire night club being human themselves. And Lestat knew he had Marius to save him if needed. Lestat does a lot of things "just to see what happens", he is impulsive, but he is not stupid. Unlike some others.
Back to the film now; When he gets home he seems somewhat impressed that she had figured out he still had the violin and probably hated her a bit less because she had stated the journal had touched her. But then, he seems to have forgotten about her. She may have impressed him to a degree but still the basics - her undertakings and attitudes in the first impression, were downright horrible and hateable. As later when Jesse makes her second appearance, he seems surprised and asks her in a sincere and slightly frustrated tone that why is she following him and what does she want - hence, HE doesn't want anything from her. And he says with disgusted expression and in annoyed and almost angered tone that he doesn't have time for her wishes, which wishes by the way were brainless. She argues his decision with a bitchy tone and for some unexplainable reason, he chooses to take her to a flying trip - to hang around with her when there would've been Marius around to spend time with and who he had obsessed about to get back for 200 years. But oh yeah, what is that possibility worth after only such a short time as 200 years of desperation and loneliness and yearning for the man. Not much, apparently. And even if we thought Lestat was mad enough at Marius not to want to spend a night with him, there were his band and his adoring fans who he naturally loved too. But why bother to spend time with them - he only said earlier that he had wanted the fans worship with all his black little heart. So let us just have him spend his night with this brainless twat, who he has clearly expressed he hates and doesn't want around. And the way she speaks to him certainly shouldn't have stirred his interest to any new direction.
After the flying trip Jesse almost gets killed by falling, which makes Lestat talk beaytifully about humanity and mortality, clearly saying he finds Jesse beautiful because she's human. He loves her humanity and thinks humanity is precious. He doesn't even imply in any ways that he'd love her. Jesse dismisses all this, begging him to let her be with him even though he never said he wanted that. She's begging him to kill in her the only thing he finds beautiful and interesting about her. And for some unknown reason again, he almost does turn her into a vampire. WHAT THE-?! Way to go! No!!
However he stops just in time, violently psuhes her as far from himself as he could, and becomes angry and offended. (Gees, I wonder why!? Could it be her total disrespect for his feelings and values about humanity/mortality!?) And soon enough clearly intents to kill her again / tun her with anything but loving attitude.
Then in the concert, Jesse brainlessly screams out his name and wants his attention for no reason that I can think of, whatsoever, while Lestat doesn't seem to even remember she exists. And when Marius appears on the stage, Lestat clearly forgets about everything else but Marius and how much fun he's having kicking the vampire ass with Marius.
With Akasha he clearly forgot about everyone but Akasha herself until he saw what Akasha really was like and that he had slaughtered mortals with her. So, when Akasha tells him to kill Jesse and he says "She's nothing to me." he most certainly really meant that but why he didn't want to kill her, was most likely because he already had killed so many mortals because of Akasha though he wasn't on her side.
The only thing Jesse had on her side for Lestat's good books was "it touched me" about his journal and that she had understood one bit of it on some deeper level. That really isn't much when looked at the entire picture of what she had said and done all along, which includes numerous major offensive attitudes and actions and total lack of respect towards him. Some suggest that "maybe he just pretended to hate her, being afraid/uncomfortable to show love"? NO. Why would he pretend hate, when she's given and continued giving him numerous reasons to really, genuinely hate her!? If something Lestat in this film tries to hide, (and fails to do so), is his happiness about Marius's return. Or "maybe he hated her in the beginning and then began to love her"? NO. 'Cause where's the sense in that? You can not just throw away/dismiss all the deeply emotional and psychological reasons for hate, which as said would be genuine, real hate. Which she by the way, as pointed out, kept fireing up all along before the concert - during and after which, they don't even talk to each other or meet anymore before the end, so that anything could make him hate her less. So, love, is just way too strong and big of a feeling to find a place in that kind of a lack of chemitry and a storyline like that. Plus, his precious Marius had returned and he and Lestat had in the concert made up and were all friends again - Lestat would not even feel a desire or need for a new companion anyway.
So why the hell is he with Jesse in that hand-in-hand tone in the end, instead of having killed her off from bothering him, feeling even remotely sad about Akasha's death and enjoying Marius's company with all his black little heart? And not only does he hang around with J and not do those other things but he hangs with Jesse who he had turned into a vampire, so killing in her the only thing he ever found beautiful about her and so there should be no valid reason for him to care about even her exsistance at all at the point. I think the only valid reason for him to turn her into a vampire would be that he didn't want her to die just because of someone like Akasha, who he clearly didn't exactly love. But then again he obviosuly hated Jesse more than he didn't love Akasha, so... But then again, I think he respected Maharet, who Jesse clearly was important to.
So, after Akasha's death, he goes to Jesse and even looks up as if making a wish or something; that wish was most likely that he still has time to turn her into a vampire, so he wouldn't have yet another human life on his conscience because of his wayward behavour with Akasha. NOT as if he'd love Jesse. And as said, Maharet probably had an affect on that matter too. But after that act, he would've realistically and logically left Jesse with Maharet and hope beyond hope that she leaves him alone - and been sad about Akasha and how he can no longer be a rockstar but must remain in shadows again, and sought and received comfort in Marius's company.
This film has one of the most self-mocking storylines I've ever had the dispelasure to witness. And the saddest thing is I'm not even sure if the film makers see it. And, to add the insult to injury; they butchered the borrowed material (from the books) in the name of something they didn't even make work.
The script writers and producers should've been sued for total lack of respect towards the author, the fans, and anyone who actually cares about quality storylines.
I don't know which is more scary; the fact that they actually wrote a strong and relatively close father-son relationship but also a few scenes and lines throwing in an illusion that it wasn't so - to try and make the stalker-victim relationship look good, and the illuison they throw in with it to desperately try and paint it as a romance... Or the fact that so many are falling for those illusions instead of seeing what the film screams with.
This and so much more in detail (also on the original script and all about the Marius VS. Jesse matter in this film) - on my Letat & Jesse Hate Site.
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Does anyone else think that even though they threw away Anne's brilliant and beautiful story, this film could've actually been quite intersting story if they had done it logically and realistically? I mean the whole teenage rockstar vampire, who's gone suicidal with daddy issues and loneliness, and as if that wasn't enough to suffer, he also has an obsessed, brainless stalker from a secret sociaty studying paranormal creatures, plus he happens to wake the evil vampire queen who wants him as her new king but in the end he turns against her because he is his father's son. And realistically of course the stalker would've been killed or locked up.
So it wouldn't have been Anne's story either but it would have been something better than this film with the nonesense Lestat/Jesse pairing while she's in fact a hated stalker. And as for Lestat & Marius, the shallow reasons Marius gave for choosing Lesat and for ditching him, and as if Lestat thought it too late for M to come over all paternal... Any of that can't be true seeing to the obvious strength of their relationship. (Lestat cried after Marius and obsessed about getting him back, and Marius protected Lestat and risked his own life to try and save him.)
Did they think that since they were already disrespecting Anne Rice and her fans so unforgivably, they don't have to care about realistic and logic own storyline either but can throw in any random bs they feel like? I'm a passionate Anne Rice fan and a total movie buff. Do you know how painful it is to me to think about this films lack of quality.
Someone said that the day Twilight was published was literature's blackest day. I might say the same about this film - only for the from-book-to-film part of film art.
I have a HUGE love-hate thing for this film. Weighting on hate as I am a huge, passionate fan of The Vampire Chronicles and Anne Rice, and deeply care about quality movies and storylines. I like this film for reasons I list later. Love comes in with the fact this includes Lestat & Marius, however abused they are, they're still in and have some in-characterness there anyway.
Oh, and I should add that of the changes the film made, what I like and have taken as my own vision too, is Marius as Lestat's maker, in which vision the film makers however miserably failed to make it show how perfectly logic it could be. Of course this would've altered everything and had they even tried to adapt the books, this would've been a crucial change and should not have been done in order to save minutes or any other reason. But they didn't adapt the books anyway so this was good and could work well if given a better effort. And still - I would've rather seen the actual Lestat & Magnus version.
And I think the way the originally intended to make that relationship into some balance in the whole discipline matter, was respectable even though unnecessary and they also miserably failed by in the end completely ignoring any physical affection and gentlness from Marius's side.
I also like the way they had Marius appear on the stage in the conceert, to protect Lestat. That's what he would've done in the books too if he could've but he was trapped in the ice. That change made up for some of the bs the film had between the pair earlier - not for much, but some.
There was some in-character parts in Lestat's personality and Townsend highlighted and porrayed them very well. Same goes for Marius and Vincent for it. And for Akasha and Aalyah.
Otherwise the film, as an adaptation, sucks big time and not in a good way. If you read the earlier script versions, you may see that almost everything worked - definitely NOT well even in them - but still much more believably than in the actual film. I don't know what the hell happened on the way to make them end up with this extremely ridiculous storyline, when the original scripts had at least some believable moments (taht are however always later destroyed by some bs) and they didn't have so many out-of-character lines than the film does.
This film really is more a pain than entertainment.
Where does the entertainment come from, for me?
X This had a potentially working plot in the parts that were borrowed from Anne Rice's boosk even if they were horribly distorted. (I don't think they would've been without the Lestat&Jesse thing.)
X The actors are all very talented and portray the roles heartfelt and convincingly. It is not their fault the script writers suck and the director also affects how they portray things.
X The atmosphere is ok for a modern vampire film.
X The music is awesome.
X Whereas some scenes are cheesy, some are really good. For cheesy such as the night club scene (inside the club moments), and the scene where Lestat meets the band in the beginning. Also, the beginning's voice-over with Lestat's words is cheesy. The original one they intended was much better. And of course the end is the cheesiest and most horrific of them all. But the really good scenes were all the Lestat's journal entry scenes (except Lestat's birth scene bothered me for several reasons, but it was still ok.) And the entire concert scene kicks ass. Though... I think the way Akasha broke through the stage was ridiculously unoriginal.
So... This film had several good sides for it and is generally entertaining - if the Lestat&Jesse thing is ignored whatsoever. Sadly, it's impossible to ignore completely. Also, I can not seperate this film from the books. And I'm not even supposed to. It is clear from the DVD's commentary track that we are supposed to think of this as an adaptation of the books. They sure are thinking of this as such.
'Cause how could an adaptation get any worse?
WARNING!! A passionate fan on loose!
WARNING!!! THIS POST SPOILS THE ENTIRE FILM!!!
A.) They COMPLETELY altered the basic storyline - making it about a mortal/vampire "love" story with a relationship that isn't in the source material at all anyway, instead of adapting the actual story from the books. And their damned "love" story isn't even love but utterly illogic and forced bs with no chemistry what-so-ever and it completely ruins the- I think I'm getting off topic seeing to the point. Which was that they wrote the film script about something that isn't in the books AT ALL.
B.) In the book, Lestat was turned by a vampire named Magnus, who was a mad amn at that point. A total psycho, who also killed himself almost immediately after turning Lestat. This is VERY essential to the entire storyline. This lead Lestat around the world, turning his mother and best friend&lover Nicki into his vampire companions and they meet the vampire Armand and all kinds of important events happen before the vampire Marius comes to Lestat.
But what does that infuriating film do? They ditch Magnus and make Marius into Lestat's maker. This way there is no chance for anything mentioned above.
But then again - what the hell - they already were writing their own horrible story about the illogic and unrealistic "love" story which they also portreyed unrealistically and illogically in practical storyline.
C.) And had they only altered the maker - when looked indepthly into the books, Marius COULD be Lestat's maker and I love the idea. However, this was not the film makers's reason. They just wanted to save minutes that they were wasting on their own stupid invention. And it shows in the way they butchered Marius. In trueful vision, Marius is very loving, gentle and dedicated father-figure and friend to Lestat. Their relationship is strong, close and warm. Marius would never attack Lestat the way he does in the film version, he would never choose Lestat or anyone else for such a random and shallow reason as the film suggests, he would NEVER leave Lestat the way he does in the film and he didn't in the book. Their storyline and Marius's motives in truth are nothing like the film's. Marius in the film is seemingly cold-hearted and selfish = the total opposite of the books's Marius. And they messed up this father-son relationship so that Lestat would become lonely and suicidal and need this Jesse chick to "save him". What the-!?!?!
Damnit, in the books it's exactly because of Marius why Lestat IS strong and not suicidal at all and not exactly lonely either. Because Marius never ditched him like that. And according to Lestat's own words it's also Marius, who comforts him in the vampire life's darkness. NOT Jesse. They barely even know each other in the books.
So because they turned the Lestat&Marius relationship and storyline upside down they also turned Lestat's character upside down.
And Jesse then? In the books, she is over 30 years old, smart and sophisticated woman, who certainly doesn't seek to become a vampire. She's a psychic too. But in the film they make her into and immature teenager and an idiot who doesn't know how to stay alive and obsesses about becoming a vampire and stalks poor Lestat.
So, they have butchered Marius and Jesse. And as already pointed out, because they butchered Marius, they also automatically butchered Lestat.
D.) Akasha would never even attempt to kill Lestat nor the other way around. They loved each others way too much for that. Akasha literally says "Lestat, even if I destroyed all the men in the world, I wouldn't destroy you" and Lestat in the end battle is desperately paradoxed with his will to help Akasha but yet stay on Marius's and others's side because that's where he truly stands even if he loves Akasha. But in the film, they both tried to kill each other. Again for the damn Lestat/Jesse crap they had written. Nice going, morons.
+++ Not that it mattered anyway and especially after all that, but - no one of the characters even looked anything like they're described in the books.
IN SHORT: The film "adaptation" was about something that isn't in the books AT ALL and they completely butchered absolutely everything that they did borrow from the books, to serve that thing they invented themselves.
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GOING IN-DEPTH!
I originally posted this part to the QOTD Spot forums at Fanpop. Before we start - please remember - I do find the film entertaining and I don't think it completely sucks. Please read my post to the very end and you'll see.
Someone else said: "...and the Lestat/Jesse relationship, dont get me started, well actually im going to start. I can understand that most people like a good love story, so its good for selling, and it makes things a lot simpler, i guess it works with the script..."
It's not even a good love story - it's not even love to begin with - but it sells because people don't know that before they pay for seeing the crap and some don't see it even after that but go delusional. Unless, perhaps, if they they read criticcs first.
And one thing it doesn't do, is work with the script. Or rather, should I say, the rest of the script doesn't work with the Lestat&Jesse part, which is obviously the basic part. But then again, what the hell, the Lestat&Jesse thing in itself doesn't even work, whereas the rest of the script would've worked perfectly well without the L&J - so without the Lestat&Jesse relationship the script would've wotked perfectly! And if everythng else but the Lestat&Jesse parts were left out... it still wouldn't have worked but at least it wouldn't insult the books so much and it wouldn't look so stupid.
I feel, it is stupid to say "it's rubbish because it isn't exactly like the books" because naturally a film can not be that. It could not and it should not, be that.
But just as stupid it is to defend this particular film for anything it does, in the name of limited minutes. Sure, THEY (the film makers) naturally use that excuse but it miserably false, once people start looking at what exactly the film makers have done.
They call this an adaptation of the books and give an excuse of "limited minutes and information overload" for not adapting the books more accurately. While - They. used. most. of. the. film. with. a. relationship. that. is NOT. in. the. books. what-so-ever. They cannot use limited minutes and information over-load as an excuse for not being more accurate to the books. For leaving so much out. There is no excuse when they did what they did.
And you wish they just left out stuff. But they totally distorted and dismissed whatever they did take from the books. And why did they do that? Clearly to aim at the part that isn't in the books - the Lestat&Jesse. The film screams their desperate efforts to pair the two and they in the end do it regardless of how their storyline doesn't support it at all but the exact opposite. This making the disrespective, abusive insult towards the book even worse.
And just when you thought it couldn'r get worse, you start to really think of how ridiculous the film's story in general is independently. How ridiculous, illogic and unrealistic that so called love story is. No chemistry, no realistic storyline and everything that truly was about love and bond, in the story (and I'm talking purely about the film's story now), is in the very final scene ignored and thrown to garbage box to have their own "lovers" end up together.
Whatever could I be refering to with that?! It's a perfect love story with perfect logic, why can't I see it?! Let me just say: HA. HA. HA.
In the film, Lestat was clearly fascinated by Akasha - in the first place when he meets her as a statue and a little even when he meets her in person - and he even more clearly could not live without Marius, (with whom he has a pure father-son relationship) obsessing to find him, to get him back. Becoming suicidally depressed and being obviously deeply touched the moment Marius leaps on the stage to protect him from actually being killed. And naturally, Marius does this because he loves Lestat so much that he would risk his own life to even try to save him. He DID - there was no way he could've with absolute certainty succeded and survived alive on the stage with all those vampires surrounding them. Not even though he was an ancient. Without Akasha's appearance - they would've both been killed right there. Unless of course if they flew away, which they were both capable of but I'm certain Lestat would not agree to do that even if it was Marius telling him. Would Marius have forced him to? Probably yes - sure as hell he would not see the kid getting himself killed because of his stanima and recklessness, even if those are ones of the things in Lestat Marius strongly loves. But the point was that Marius loved Lestat enough to risk his own life to try and rescue Lestat. And I think it originates from the Bible, the very true saying that there is no greater love than to die in the place of someone else. Which naturally of course equals efforts to save someone by risking your own life.
And I wish to remind you what I already said; Lestat really, really, REALLY wanted Marius back in this film. Starting from calling for him many times even though he never got an answer, noticing and saving someone he doesn't even know, just to find out if they know marius, inteniting to kill them if they don't know Marius, well, I could go on but I think I've made my point.
But as for Jesse - his so-called sweetheart in the final scene, who he walks with, hand in hand, smiling...
...he notices and saves her life only because she mentioned Marius's name and intents to kill her when finds out she doesn't know Marius and had lied about knowing him to save her own sorry ass from her own idiotic undertaking, and knew about the man only because she had snooped around his private journal pages. Who wouldn't hate someone like that, seeing to how much Lestat loves Marius and had missed him for centuries. So he insults her with a "Your kind never satisfies my thirst.", which is why he didn't kill her after all.
Some say "she's just a little bit impulsive, not an idiot". Well, i say she's an impulsive idiot. Impulsivness is to go to a vampire nightclub alone, as a mortal being b/c you wanna know more and idiocy is to do so without anything to defend yourself with. Some also say "by reading the book I think Lestat was perfectly capable of doing that himself so why the hell hate someone for that?" I don't think Lestat was ever capable of doing that exactly. Let's think about the books for a sec then. The wolves for example: He left for the hunt alone because there was no one else in his village capable of it and he felt it was his responsibility, so it wasn't even impulsiveness. He had a horse, two good hunting dogs and numerous guns with him. And no fear whatsoever, which feeling was an alien to him. But was fear alien to Jesse? No - she was terrified and uncomfortable in the club and so had to improvise by lying her soul out and then she ran like a little girl and then would've been totally killed if Lestat hadn't saved her beause of her lie. Lestat on his behalf in the wolf hunt did what he came to do - killed the wolves and even though he almost got killed himself, he survived because of his own stanima and bravery.
Lestat in the books being hopelessly reckless, as in for example bracking to Gabrielle how he would've beaten one of the attacking vampires that were hunting them in the end even though he probably was more close to dying himself? And Gabrielle said "Monsieur, you are an imp. You're impossible. What did Marius himself say? The damnedest creature." Lestat had Louis and Gabrielle there to help him plus he thought Marius was somewhere out there nearby, protecting him too, so of course his attitude was that. And teh Akasha/Enkil statue incident... He sincerely thought nothing would happen and it wa spotentially true. No one smart thinks 'nothing will happen' if they stick their nose to a vampire night club being human themselves. And Lestat knew he had Marius to save him if needed. Lestat does a lot of things "just to see what happens", he is impulsive, but he is not stupid. Unlike some others.
Back to the film now; When he gets home he seems somewhat impressed that she had figured out he still had the violin and probably hated her a bit less because she had stated the journal had touched her. But then, he seems to have forgotten about her. She may have impressed him to a degree but still the basics - her undertakings and attitudes in the first impression, were downright horrible and hateable. As later when Jesse makes her second appearance, he seems surprised and asks her in a sincere and slightly frustrated tone that why is she following him and what does she want - hence, HE doesn't want anything from her. And he says with disgusted expression and in annoyed and almost angered tone that he doesn't have time for her wishes, which wishes by the way were brainless. She argues his decision with a bitchy tone and for some unexplainable reason, he chooses to take her to a flying trip - to hang around with her when there would've been Marius around to spend time with and who he had obsessed about to get back for 200 years. But oh yeah, what is that possibility worth after only such a short time as 200 years of desperation and loneliness and yearning for the man. Not much, apparently. And even if we thought Lestat was mad enough at Marius not to want to spend a night with him, there were his band and his adoring fans who he naturally loved too. But why bother to spend time with them - he only said earlier that he had wanted the fans worship with all his black little heart. So let us just have him spend his night with this brainless twat, who he has clearly expressed he hates and doesn't want around. And the way she speaks to him certainly shouldn't have stirred his interest to any new direction.
After the flying trip Jesse almost gets killed by falling, which makes Lestat talk beaytifully about humanity and mortality, clearly saying he finds Jesse beautiful because she's human. He loves her humanity and thinks humanity is precious. He doesn't even imply in any ways that he'd love her. Jesse dismisses all this, begging him to let her be with him even though he never said he wanted that. She's begging him to kill in her the only thing he finds beautiful and interesting about her. And for some unknown reason again, he almost does turn her into a vampire. WHAT THE-?! Way to go! No!!
However he stops just in time, violently psuhes her as far from himself as he could, and becomes angry and offended. (Gees, I wonder why!? Could it be her total disrespect for his feelings and values about humanity/mortality!?) And soon enough clearly intents to kill her again / tun her with anything but loving attitude.
Then in the concert, Jesse brainlessly screams out his name and wants his attention for no reason that I can think of, whatsoever, while Lestat doesn't seem to even remember she exists. And when Marius appears on the stage, Lestat clearly forgets about everything else but Marius and how much fun he's having kicking the vampire ass with Marius.
With Akasha he clearly forgot about everyone but Akasha herself until he saw what Akasha really was like and that he had slaughtered mortals with her. So, when Akasha tells him to kill Jesse and he says "She's nothing to me." he most certainly really meant that but why he didn't want to kill her, was most likely because he already had killed so many mortals because of Akasha though he wasn't on her side.
The only thing Jesse had on her side for Lestat's good books was "it touched me" about his journal and that she had understood one bit of it on some deeper level. That really isn't much when looked at the entire picture of what she had said and done all along, which includes numerous major offensive attitudes and actions and total lack of respect towards him. Some suggest that "maybe he just pretended to hate her, being afraid/uncomfortable to show love"? NO. Why would he pretend hate, when she's given and continued giving him numerous reasons to really, genuinely hate her!? If something Lestat in this film tries to hide, (and fails to do so), is his happiness about Marius's return. Or "maybe he hated her in the beginning and then began to love her"? NO. 'Cause where's the sense in that? You can not just throw away/dismiss all the deeply emotional and psychological reasons for hate, which as said would be genuine, real hate. Which she by the way, as pointed out, kept fireing up all along before the concert - during and after which, they don't even talk to each other or meet anymore before the end, so that anything could make him hate her less. So, love, is just way too strong and big of a feeling to find a place in that kind of a lack of chemitry and a storyline like that. Plus, his precious Marius had returned and he and Lestat had in the concert made up and were all friends again - Lestat would not even feel a desire or need for a new companion anyway.
So why the hell is he with Jesse in that hand-in-hand tone in the end, instead of having killed her off from bothering him, feeling even remotely sad about Akasha's death and enjoying Marius's company with all his black little heart? And not only does he hang around with J and not do those other things but he hangs with Jesse who he had turned into a vampire, so killing in her the only thing he ever found beautiful about her and so there should be no valid reason for him to care about even her exsistance at all at the point. I think the only valid reason for him to turn her into a vampire would be that he didn't want her to die just because of someone like Akasha, who he clearly didn't exactly love. But then again he obviosuly hated Jesse more than he didn't love Akasha, so... But then again, I think he respected Maharet, who Jesse clearly was important to.
So, after Akasha's death, he goes to Jesse and even looks up as if making a wish or something; that wish was most likely that he still has time to turn her into a vampire, so he wouldn't have yet another human life on his conscience because of his wayward behavour with Akasha. NOT as if he'd love Jesse. And as said, Maharet probably had an affect on that matter too. But after that act, he would've realistically and logically left Jesse with Maharet and hope beyond hope that she leaves him alone - and been sad about Akasha and how he can no longer be a rockstar but must remain in shadows again, and sought and received comfort in Marius's company.
This film has one of the most self-mocking storylines I've ever had the dispelasure to witness. And the saddest thing is I'm not even sure if the film makers see it. And, to add the insult to injury; they butchered the borrowed material (from the books) in the name of something they didn't even make work.
The script writers and producers should've been sued for total lack of respect towards the author, the fans, and anyone who actually cares about quality storylines.
I don't know which is more scary; the fact that they actually wrote a strong and relatively close father-son relationship but also a few scenes and lines throwing in an illusion that it wasn't so - to try and make the stalker-victim relationship look good, and the illuison they throw in with it to desperately try and paint it as a romance... Or the fact that so many are falling for those illusions instead of seeing what the film screams with.
This and so much more in detail (also on the original script and all about the Marius VS. Jesse matter in this film) - on my Letat & Jesse Hate Site.
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Does anyone else think that even though they threw away Anne's brilliant and beautiful story, this film could've actually been quite intersting story if they had done it logically and realistically? I mean the whole teenage rockstar vampire, who's gone suicidal with daddy issues and loneliness, and as if that wasn't enough to suffer, he also has an obsessed, brainless stalker from a secret sociaty studying paranormal creatures, plus he happens to wake the evil vampire queen who wants him as her new king but in the end he turns against her because he is his father's son. And realistically of course the stalker would've been killed or locked up.
So it wouldn't have been Anne's story either but it would have been something better than this film with the nonesense Lestat/Jesse pairing while she's in fact a hated stalker. And as for Lestat & Marius, the shallow reasons Marius gave for choosing Lesat and for ditching him, and as if Lestat thought it too late for M to come over all paternal... Any of that can't be true seeing to the obvious strength of their relationship. (Lestat cried after Marius and obsessed about getting him back, and Marius protected Lestat and risked his own life to try and save him.)
Did they think that since they were already disrespecting Anne Rice and her fans so unforgivably, they don't have to care about realistic and logic own storyline either but can throw in any random bs they feel like? I'm a passionate Anne Rice fan and a total movie buff. Do you know how painful it is to me to think about this films lack of quality.
Someone said that the day Twilight was published was literature's blackest day. I might say the same about this film - only for the from-book-to-film part of film art.
I have a HUGE love-hate thing for this film. Weighting on hate as I am a huge, passionate fan of The Vampire Chronicles and Anne Rice, and deeply care about quality movies and storylines. I like this film for reasons I list later. Love comes in with the fact this includes Lestat & Marius, however abused they are, they're still in and have some in-characterness there anyway.
Oh, and I should add that of the changes the film made, what I like and have taken as my own vision too, is Marius as Lestat's maker, in which vision the film makers however miserably failed to make it show how perfectly logic it could be. Of course this would've altered everything and had they even tried to adapt the books, this would've been a crucial change and should not have been done in order to save minutes or any other reason. But they didn't adapt the books anyway so this was good and could work well if given a better effort. And still - I would've rather seen the actual Lestat & Magnus version.
And I think the way the originally intended to make that relationship into some balance in the whole discipline matter, was respectable even though unnecessary and they also miserably failed by in the end completely ignoring any physical affection and gentlness from Marius's side.
I also like the way they had Marius appear on the stage in the conceert, to protect Lestat. That's what he would've done in the books too if he could've but he was trapped in the ice. That change made up for some of the bs the film had between the pair earlier - not for much, but some.
There was some in-character parts in Lestat's personality and Townsend highlighted and porrayed them very well. Same goes for Marius and Vincent for it. And for Akasha and Aalyah.
Otherwise the film, as an adaptation, sucks big time and not in a good way. If you read the earlier script versions, you may see that almost everything worked - definitely NOT well even in them - but still much more believably than in the actual film. I don't know what the hell happened on the way to make them end up with this extremely ridiculous storyline, when the original scripts had at least some believable moments (taht are however always later destroyed by some bs) and they didn't have so many out-of-character lines than the film does.
This film really is more a pain than entertainment.
Where does the entertainment come from, for me?
X This had a potentially working plot in the parts that were borrowed from Anne Rice's boosk even if they were horribly distorted. (I don't think they would've been without the Lestat&Jesse thing.)
X The actors are all very talented and portray the roles heartfelt and convincingly. It is not their fault the script writers suck and the director also affects how they portray things.
X The atmosphere is ok for a modern vampire film.
X The music is awesome.
X Whereas some scenes are cheesy, some are really good. For cheesy such as the night club scene (inside the club moments), and the scene where Lestat meets the band in the beginning. Also, the beginning's voice-over with Lestat's words is cheesy. The original one they intended was much better. And of course the end is the cheesiest and most horrific of them all. But the really good scenes were all the Lestat's journal entry scenes (except Lestat's birth scene bothered me for several reasons, but it was still ok.) And the entire concert scene kicks ass. Though... I think the way Akasha broke through the stage was ridiculously unoriginal.
So... This film had several good sides for it and is generally entertaining - if the Lestat&Jesse thing is ignored whatsoever. Sadly, it's impossible to ignore completely. Also, I can not seperate this film from the books. And I'm not even supposed to. It is clear from the DVD's commentary track that we are supposed to think of this as an adaptation of the books. They sure are thinking of this as such.
