Too much of everything

Fantastic!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This movie has been out for a long time, and nothing I can say in a review is going to have much of an effect on who might see it, if anyone will indeed see it anytime soon. But, just in case you are undecided, if you have just run across it and only have x hours and x minutes for a movie, then please go watch it. It is very, very good.OK, I already contradicted myself.A great deal is said these days about the derivative nature of some films, as if a bit of an homage to great cinema automatically relegates a movie to less than average status. I think that sort of thing is unfair. In fact, I think it is OK if something I see reminds me of something I liked before. I still like the effect, and maybe more.In fact, so many now sit back, throw darts, and identify contemporary work as derivative that their silly conformist critiques are pretty...you guessed it, derivative! You are thinking 'ok, maybe but...what about this movie' So, imagine cinematography from Hitchcock in America, soundtrack by middle period Bernard Hermann, Jude Law before he became a boring caricature of Brits (Dr. Watson), a vampire script unlike any you have run across before and an intriguing non-blonde that Hitch would never have employed in Elina Löwensohn and you have this movie in a nutshell.Of course, like almost every other vampire movie it ends sadly. If you are into vampire sad endings, well then here you go.If you like a good drama about a vampire with crisp dialogue and unusual characters, with a minimum of blood and slashing, then here is a movie for you. If you like your vamps otherwise then steer clear.Better yet, if you enjoyed Byzantium as I did (to a guilty extreme I must admit) then see this movie and you will be quite happy indeed. What happened to Jude, he seemed on such a roll especially after picking off Nazis in Stalingrad.Maybe he just bled out? Probably.

Not a run of the mill vampire movie by any means, although JUDE LAW plays his usual deeply disturbed character, a doctor who stalks women he sees as suitable to seduce. Sure of himself, he decides to play a cat and mouse game with detectives investigating the case.Law uses his hypnotizing gaze with good effect. His latest conquest is an industrial engineer who says, "I like a man with a bit of mystery about him." She immediately becomes an item on his list of future victims. He wins her over completely when he saves her from a vicious attack by thugs. There's an air of unpredictability lurking over every scene.The last half-hour has the woman scrutinizing him--wondering what's inside his mind. You have to wonder where their relationship is going. Will she still be his next victim? The detective is having an equally hard time trying to figure him out."The line that separates good from evil cuts through every human heart," he tells the detective.To say the least, he's an ambiguous character, this vampire, and Jude Law plays him with conviction. Timothy Spall as the dogged detective is good, as is Elina Lowensohn as the puzzled romantic interest.The finale drags a bit before it goes for the climax. A bit too sluggish throughout but still manages to hold the interest.

Jude Law gives his all in this beautifully filmed vampire flick which offers little else of value. Completely lacking in eroticism, excitement, or leading ladies with appeal. One decent fight, a few moments of mild suspense. And a one-note plot.The movie waxes philisophic in a series of conversations between Law's character and a dogged homicide detective, well played by Timothy Spall. But despite their best efforts, both actors are staked to the cross of the film's banality.With a lesser actor in the lead role -- and without the benefit of Oliver Curtis's cinematography -- Crocodiles would blend into the sea of low-budget vampire quickies.

A moving, beautifully told, and original vampire movie, and one which has since vanished into the unknown. Jude Law, probably in his best performance is a modern day vampire. Naturally, this being a modern movie which tries to be original, Law's character has few of the vampire traits we would recognise; he can live in daylight, crucifixes etc hold no power over him, he cannot transform into other animals, and does not have fangs. However, he is semi-immortal, and must drink human blood to survive. Indeed it is this which lies behind the story, and it is a tragedy rather than a horror. With great acting, beautiful and subtle camera-work, a touching story and a good soundtrack, The Wisdom of Crocodiles bears all the markings of a good movie. It is; unfortunately it is little known, and of course has flaws which probably stopped it from becoming an instant hit.Law is Stephen, an attractive, clever, charming young man who happens to be a vampire. In his quest for the 'perfect' woman who can save him from his torturous life, a strong woman with the ability to love him, literally changing her blood. All the women he has found in the past have been scared of him, so he has killed them. When he does this, he takes a fang like object from them. In his desperate search for love he finds Anna, (Lowensohn) a beautiful young woman and they begin to fall for each other. She is enchanted by him, but sher is also cautious, and when he saves her from a gang of muggers she becomes scared. The truth soon comes out in parts, and all the time the police are interested in Stephen's involvement in the death of his ex-girlfriend. The story builds to a suitable emotional climax, and never at any point can we predict what will happen.The film failed at the box-office because it is very downbeat, and only features one big name star. The director is also little known, but he shows an immense talent here, and gets the best from the cast. Hoffman's script has some of the best dialogue in years, but is also clever and full of metaphor and depth. It is definitely a film crying out to be rewatched as you will find something new with each viewing. The film is filled with imagery to suit the script, and Law's charismatic performance could not have been bettered. Lowensohn is also very good, her intensity growing as she finds out more about Stephen. Of course, as a vampire movie people will expect blood and scares. Here there is little blood shed and few scenes of violence, though all are handled perfectly, and of course it is not that kind of film. Hopefully a DVD release in the UK will be forthcoming. The cop storyline adds another depth, but for some the proceedings will be too slow. The film has its own pace, and rarely gets out of first gear, but this is the way it should be. An underrated film, but as Jude Law's stardom rises hopefully he will not forget this, and his fans will discover it.8 out of 10