Crimson Peak
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by: Guillermo del Toro & Matthew Robbins
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver, Burn Gorman
Drama/Fantasy/Horror/Mystery/Romance/Thriller - 119 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 15 Oct 2014
Written by: Guillermo del Toro & Matthew Robbins
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver, Burn Gorman
Drama/Fantasy/Horror/Mystery/Romance/Thriller - 119 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 15 Oct 2014
When ghosts and spectres take the time to glide down the hallway or climb out of the floor to issue a warning, efforts that appear to require, pardon the pun, a supernatural effort, they should convey their message in short, declarative sentences avoiding vague metaphors or confusing shorthand. Edith Cushing’s mother twice attempts to warn her daughter about the future. The maternal phantasm opts to raspily whisper, “Beware the Crimson Peak.” What is this supposed to mean to her daughter? The ghost should be quite aware that poor Edith has no idea what a Crimson Peak is. Perhaps there is a point byond death where one must only speak in riddles and nebulous one-liners. If the ghost speaks clearly or employs the correct proper noun, then the entirety of Guillermo del Toro’s gothic romance revival is moot. Unfortunately, the narrative proceeds due to an ignored misunderstanding.
If del Toro wrote Crimson Peak’s story as strong as he directed the art, set, and costumes, then Crimson Peak would be a force to be reckoned with. Del Toro is no stranger to strong and effective plots as The Devil’s Backbone (2001) and Pan’s Labyrinth (2005) attest. Those films are gorgeous and enthralling. Crimson Peak is merely gorgeous; it leaves its brains and cunning perhaps in a previous draft. The story aligns more with del Toro’s lesser efforts including Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (2011) and The Strain.
If del Toro wrote Crimson Peak’s story as strong as he directed the art, set, and costumes, then Crimson Peak would be a force to be reckoned with. Del Toro is no stranger to strong and effective plots as The Devil’s Backbone (2001) and Pan’s Labyrinth (2005) attest. Those films are gorgeous and enthralling. Crimson Peak is merely gorgeous; it leaves its brains and cunning perhaps in a previous draft. The story aligns more with del Toro’s lesser efforts including Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (2011) and The Strain.
The ingredients to create a gothic romance are quite simple. Take one cup epic love story, a tablespoon of the supernatural or the hint of the occult, a liter of dread-inducing suspense and stir. True gothic romances disappeared decades ago and only haphazardly bubble to the surface anymore. To familiarize yourself with the taste, think Rebecca (1940) and just about any film based on the work of a Brontë sister, especially Jane Eyre. Frequently, an unfamiliar mansion or large estate is present and may even be considered a separate character. These structures personify the gothic romance’s idea of terror vs. beauty.
Allerdale Hall is the sole building for miles around on the plains of Cumberland, England. It sits on top of a stagnant mine of blood red clay. The clay is omnipresent. It leaks out of the ground and makes the snow look like a slaughterhouse floor. It runs down the walls inside the mansion’s lower levels and it is very slowly but determined to swallow the entire behemoth. Allerdale Hall’s two residents, brother and sister Thomas and Lucille Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston, 2013's Thor: The Dark World, and Jessica Chastain, 2015's The Martian), want to get the mine up and running again but lack the capital.
During a trip to the New World, specifically 1901 Buffalo, New York, to raise funds, Thomas meets young Edith (Mia Wasikowska, 2014's Tracks) and desires to take her back to England despite the strong suspicions of her father (Jim Beaver), the jealousies of Edith’s unrequited suitor, Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam, 2013's Pacific Rim), and the unenthusiastic cold shoulder of Lucille. Yet, for any dark fairytale to achieve its end, the young ingénue must undergo a transformation from purity and innocence into well, I’m not sure, the ability to see and understand reality forgoing childish fantasies?
Getting Edith all the way to England is largely stale but once we get there, the artists take over. Production designer Thomas Sanders (Saving Private Ryan, Braveheart) along with the set decorator and costume designer are Crimson Peak’s three stars, not the on screen talent. There is no existing house in the world matching del Toro’s vision; therefore, he took six months to have one built. He could have employed CGI, but del Toro is an old school artist; he knows authenticity and how to best achieve it. I wasn’t there, but I’m not sure even the most posh aristocrats dressed in this manner in the Victorian era. The poufy shoulders on Edith’s nightgowns alone could house an entire Hobbit village.
Del Toro says Crimson Peak is meant to be more than eye candy; it is eye protein. Well said. If he put a bit more red meat in the script, he would have a tremendous and disturbing film on his hands. However, what del Toro brings to the table is an over-priced, sparse appetizer. We know del Toro is capable of reaching the stratosphere, we’ve seen it before, and that’s why his attempt to resuscitate the gothic romance stings as much as it does. We can see the juicy steak on the next table but sitting right in front of us are soggy leafy greens.
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