Blood and Chocolate

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Kent Turner -- School Library Journal, 01/31/2007

Fans of the sensuous Blood and Chocolate (Delacorte, 1997) by Annette Curtis Klause will quickly discover that the film bears little resemblance to the book. The setting and story are unrecognizable and drained of any suspense. The story line of a teenage werewolf who falls in love with a human has been retained, but the setting is a far cry from the book’s quiet Maryland suburb, where Vivian, a high school student, meets sensitive heartthrob Aiden.

Agnes Bruckner as Vivian and Hugh Dancy as Aiden. Photo by Toni Salabasev

The film takes us to Bucharest, where 19-year-old Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) meets a British graphic novelist, Aiden (Hugh Dancy), in an abandoned Byzantine church. Their resulting romance is as sexy as a radish.

Bruckner's performance is glum and unmotivated, giving the impression that her character has just taken a cold shower, and she rarely changes her deadpan expression. (Maybe she confused werewolf with zombie.) It took 10 years to bring the book to screen, and the lengthy process has no doubt drained the life out of its characters and the story itself. The camera does make use of the crumbling Old World atmosphere (werewolves or vampires, what's the difference?), but that's it.

Vivian's mercurial cousin Rafe fears Aidan will run to the authorities, revealing their family secret. After Aiden is nearly killed by Rafe, he breaks up with Vivian, telling her: "If you cared anything about me, you would have left me before we met"—a line that unwittingly provides the film’s biggest laugh.

Olivier Martinez as Gabriel and Agnes Bruckner as Vivian. Photo by Toni Salabasev

Aiden is much more of a he-man than the book's dude-in-distress. Werewolf alpha-male Gabriel (French actor Olivier Martinez) also has his eyes on Vivian. But like Bruckner, Martinez gives an unresponsive performance. If the actors don't care about their characters, why should we? The only creature this heavily accented leader of the pack resembles is Pepé Le Pew.

Directed by Katja von Garnier
Rated PG-13
98 min.