Immortality (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 Levels
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:

pubic hair | male pubic hair | animal in title | male objectification | nudity | 

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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:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,281, 16 July 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$21,404, 23 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

Anthony Minghella's wife produced the film and used to watched the dailies at home each evening. Minghella would watch over her shoulder and was so impressed with Jude Law's performance he would cast him the following year as Dickie Greenleaf in "The Talented Mr Ripley" (1999)

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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

Gang Leader: Excuse me, can I help you?
Steven Grlscz: Don't think so.
Gang Member: What? Is he your boyfriend or something?
Steven Grlscz: He's been following me for two days.
Gang Leader: Really? Why would a pinhead be following you?
Steven Grlscz: Because he thinks I murdered someone.
Gang Leader: Did you?
Steven Grlscz: He thinks so.
Gang Leader: If we do him he won't be following anyone for quite awhile.
Steven Grlscz: Don't you realize something? You're all in a lot of trouble. They'll send someone else. They're very persistent, the police, especially when people kill them. And you have to kill him, don't you? Hardly seems ...
[...]

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.