The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1999)

People are voting emotionally.

Disturbing yet enthralling

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I gave the film an 8, not just for the qualities of the film everyone else years ago have mentioned, but for Jude Law's performance. Such a pleasure to stumble across this at Netflix instant watch. I always thought Law was completely overrated save for his savvy performance in A.I. I thought he was dreadfully cast in just about everything, showing no emotion I could connect to or subtlety of acting. I was wrong and am not ashamed to admit I was completely intrigued by him in this film. He was absolutely fearless and I don't know whether that is a testament to the director, to the director and script, or to Law/Director/Script.It is as odd and wonderful as if you just stumbled over The Man Who Fell to Earth, which is not your stereotypical sci fi film. This is not your stereotypical vampire film and I highly recommend it.

This film is about a vampire in modern day London, who needs to feed off blood of love."The Wisdom of Crocodiles" is an interesting tale of love. The plot shows in detail how one can be touched by love and make the greatest sacrifice for love. However, the low budget shows itself throughout the film, and I kept thinking it would have been great if there were more visually stimulating scenes to counterbalance the dark tone of the film. I think Jude Law could have done better in his acting. He looks rather restricted in his facial expressions, maybe it was because it was one of his early films.

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.

At its heart, The Wisdom of Crocodiles alludes to being cross between a story about someone in mental torment and a modern-day vampire movie. The Jude Law character - the story's villain - comes across as a convincingly menacing and cunning master of his own destiny and of other peoples' destinies too. However, the main driving impetus in his life is either haemophilia, apnea or asthma - a medical problem that the movie fails to clarify.Jude Law is a man driven to consume other people's "emotions" by gorging himself on their blood in a gruesome Dracula-like fashion and the question nags as to when the killer will strike again. When he meets an attractive foreigner who engages in a fateful relationship with him, we expect the inevitable. Jude struggles with the reality of who he is and the genuine affection he feels for his latest victim until he resolves to act out his bloodthirsty course.In the final act, we see him weave an elaborate web to deceive the victim to her death by appealing to her sympathy. It is a part of the movie where the villain becomes truly vampiric in behaviour and motive.The movie has several flaws, which can't be covered by the excellence of the acting. First is the cryptic title, which confuses rather than informs. Secondly, a tangle of unclear plot-threads knot into perplexing scenes throughout the movie.It's as if the producer can't decide whether to make this a vampire movie, a romance, a thriller, a detective story or a story about someone in mental anguish. I get the feeling that if Leong had chosen one throughline and played to its strengths he might've produced a strong movie. Instead its a story that never makes up its mind what its main thread is and so leaves an unsatisfying series of questions.The result is that, in the confusion, Leong never gets the chance to tell us anything about the villain's condition or even why he's got it, and we never learn the reasons that motivate Law in his choice of victims.Not the best movie I've seen, though not the worst either. Jude Law lives up to his reputation by pulling off a convincing portrayal of a very disturbed man. Timothy Spall provides a strong supporting role as the dogged detective.