The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998)

Vampire in London is searching for the ideal woman to redeem him.

Director:

Po-Chih Leong

Writer:

Paul Hoffman

Stars:

Jude Law, Elina Löwensohn, Timothy Spall

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jude Law	...	Steven Grlscz
Elina Löwensohn	...	Anne Labels
Timothy Spall	...	Inspector Healey
Jack Davenport	...	Sergeant Roche
Colin Salmon	...	Martin
Hitler Wong	...	Noodles Chan
Kerry Fox	...	Maria Vaughan
Stuart Bowman	...	Car Crash Mechanic
C.J. December	...	Car Crash Mechanic
Anastasia Hille	...	Karen
Nicholas Lamont	...	Toll Bridge Attendant (as Nick Lamont)
Joseph O'Conor	...	Mr. Nancarrow
Ashley Artus	...	Gang Leader
Tom Wu	...	Gang Member
Hon Ping Tang	...	Gang Member

Storyline

Steven is multi-talented, handsome, and a expert seducer of women. He craves intimacy with women, literally cannot live without it, and is in search of the perfect woman. All of his relationships, however, end tragically. Eventually, he meets Anne, a strong woman who is different, better than the others. However, soon it becomes clear that this is a relationship that only one of them will survive. The title refers to a quote from Francis Bacon, who wrote about crocodiles, who shed tears when they devour their prey.

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Plot Keywords:

subway | vampire | love | blood | police | 

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Taglines:

Handsome. Seductive. Deadly.

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence and gore, language, and sexuality

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 May 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Immortality

Filming Locations:

Kew Bridge Steam Museum, Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, Middlesex, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,281 (USA) (14 July 2000)

Gross:

$21,404 (USA) (21 July 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goldwyn Films, Film Foundry Partners, Entertainment Film Distributors

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The love poem quoted throughout movie is a love song taken from the bible - "The song of Solomon".

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Goofs

When Steven is standing in the police lineup he has a bruise on the corner of his mouth. During his interrogation in the next scene, the bruise is gone.

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Quotes

Steven Grlscz: Don't be afraid. I'll move back overe here. I'll open the doors. I'm going to die. Two weeks, maybe three. My body is breaking down. I bleed. I don't heal anymore. I need blood. I need the love that's in your blood. What you're feeling about me right now. In your throat, in your chest, in your blood. Like something you can touch. Remember the crystals? Rage, resentment, malice, disappointment, despair. Emotions. Emotions are things. Your blood carries every emotion possible to feel.

User Reviews

A dark and brooding thriller

The Wisdom of Crocodiles is one of a new breed of vampire movies. Probably started by Abel Ferrera's "The Addiction", vampirism has turned into a sort of curse that turns it's afflicted into brooding philosophers. Gone are the vampire bats, wooden stakes and crucifixes that once were the staples of the genre, and the vampire genre has been changed into a commentary on disease. However, I'm all for innovation, even if it's not always advisable innovation, and The Wisdom of Crocodiles is one of the better 'new wave' vampire films. It actually seems to be taking more influence from George Romero's excellent 'Martin' than 'The Addiction' anyway. The Wisdom of Crocodiles (great name, by the way) stars Jude Law, in a tight performance, as a man afflicted with some sort of curse that forces him to suck the blood of women while in the act of lovemaking. To say any more than that would mean spoiling it, so I'll leave it there.

The Wisdom of Crocodiles has gained itself something of a cult following, and the channel I saw it on even introduced it as a 'cult classic'. I think this is an incorrect description of the film, as although it's not bad and certainly has it's moments; it hardly has the same qualities as true cult masterpieces, such as the aforementioned 'Martin'. The film benefits from a brooding atmosphere that is created by a brooding musical score that plays through almost the entire running time. This never gets annoying however, as the music is good and almost always adds to the images seen on screen. The film is slowly plotted, which might annoy some people and it's littered with philosophical ideas that Jude Law utters for a lot of the running time. This will probably irritate people that tuned in expecting a vampire movie, especially as there's little bloodletting, but some of the ideas put forward are fairly interesting, and keep the film alive.

This film shouldn't really be in with the classic vampire films at all, as it's a completely different animal (I suppose they couldn't really put it in with 'brooding cursed people', though). Vampire fans should take note of this, but even without the classic vampire thrills; there is much to like about this British chiller.