Search - Immortality on DVD

Unique Vampire

MJ | Atlanta, GA | 09/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I found the talent of Jude Law late to the game, and had to go back and see much of his earlier work far removed from its date of release. "Immortality," or "Wisdom of Crocodiles" as it came to me, is one of the best examples of Law's ability as an actor. Of all of his older movies, this would be the one to buy.

Granted, I'm a sucker for an original horror movie - none of that blood and guts for me! I want depth, unique-ness, and a captivating dark tale. This filled the bill on all accounts. Law expertly plays a vampire, attractive but repulsive. It is believable because of this contradiction. Anyone as attractive as Law's character has to have their downfall. And slowly, the viewer sees the pain he lives with.

Highly recommended!"

Well, I thought it was pretty good

Margaret Dybala | Pearland, Texas United States | 02/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jude Law gives his usual outstanding performance. This man has so much talent that it just isn't fair that he is also so pleasing to the eye. But I also found the supporting actors quite compelling in this film about a sort of emotional vampire -- a man who must feed on women who love him. Does seem like he should have had a couple of extra women around, though, in case there is a problem with one. At any rate, his relationship with the police detective who suspects him is really the best part of this film. I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys a good thriller and, yes, a vampire movie without the usual amount of blood, etc."

Taster's Choice

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 08/22/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Immortality," as the DVD is titled, or "The Wisdom of Crocodiles," as the original theatrical release was titled, is an interesting and partially successful film. Whether you're Whoopi Goldberg in "Homer & Eddie" or Jude Law in this film, it is simply an almost impossible task to have your main character as a serial killer. We don't like them. Even when they're as funny as Whoopi or as good looking & talented as Jude, it's an almost impossible task.

Po-Chih Leong who is British and has directed in England & Hong Kong and recently directed Steven Segal in "Out of Reach" makes an unusually good stab [pun intended] at pulling this off. It is handsomely photographed. The scenes that start the film with the car in the tree capture our imagination, even if we're not exactly sure how the car got there. It's one of those little mysteries that the film doesn't answer.

The cast of the film is excellent. As Stephen Grlscz who has the distinction of not having a vowel in his name, Jude Law makes him seem as sympathetic as possible. He seesaws back & forth between falling in love with Anne or not. Law's 2 Oscar nominations for "The Talented Mr. Ripley" in 1999 & "Cold Mountain" in 2003 show him to be a bona fide star actor. A role like Stephen Grlscz shows the breadth of roles that Law is able to play convincingly. We're not quite sure if he's a vampire or simply suffers from some strange blood disease. However, he does not shrivel with daylight nor seem to require a stake through the heart. His first kill on screen is chilling as it starts as a heated sexual encounter and ends with blood spattered on plastic sheets. When we see the wall with what is a long series of portraits of others he has similarly killed, we realize he has a long history. The film doesn't answer questions like how often he needs to kill to maintain himself, why blood from someone that loved him is more potent than the blood of a stranger, or how much blood he needs since he treats his first screen victim Maria like a 7-11 slurpee rather than a good-to-the-last drop Taster's Choice cup of brew. In short, it's best not to think too much if you want to enjoy this one.

New Zealand native Kerry Fox plays the first victim Maria Vaughn who's about to step off the tube stop in front of a train. Grlscz saves her, only to woo her & then bloodsuck her. Fox starred in "Shallow Grave" with Ewan McGregor. In "Intimacy" in 2001, she played the screen wife of Timothy Spall who plays Inspector Healy that investigates her death in this film. (She cheated on him in that movie; so maybe that's why he doesn't solve her crime in this one. -- I AM JOKING!) Her brief time on the screen shows her to be a superlative victim.

Romanian actress Elina Lowensohn who is prone to playing vampires here plays the escapee. Her thick accent sounded French Canadian to me. While she does a good job as the brainy engineer who can administer first aid to a gory industrial accident victim, I never really felt the chemical sparks fly between her & Law. It was a chilly romance.

One of the highlights of the film is the dowdy little detective Inspector Healy played by Timothy Spall. He played the effeminate opera star in "Topsy Turvy" and as the mousy little Peter Pettigrew in "Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban." Here he turns in a deep & nuanced performance. In one scene Grlscz saves Healy from a severe beating or even death from a subway gang and in another explains the nature of evil and good in everyone. There actually seemed to be more of a connection between Law & Spall than with Lowensohn. It might have been an interesting twist if Law decided Spall was good enough for an appetizer.

The film does churn toward its Hitchcock-like climax at a steady pace. It's an interesting evening's entertainment, but will not find a place on our shelf at home. Enjoy!
"