First I want you to understand that I hate the relationship because of how it is done and how it dismisses too significant things and I only think the movie should've been
more true to the books
because that's what it's meant to be - an adaptation of the books, so I can't and I'm not supposed to, seperate it completely from them.
But I don't hate the entire movie; I like some changes they made, (relatively). I especially love the casting and music.
HERE you can read all about this site's purpose.
Also - some lovers of the film say that "it was only inspired by the books and so
it doesn't need to be any closer to the books than it is". But that is completely and entirely NOT true:
Because the producer tries to excuse all that they did and literally has said that they expect us to embrace the film as the best they could do - in terms of a serious book-to-film adaptation!
That is the truth, a litreally readable fact at Warner Bros's Queen of the Damned web site; it's F.A.Q section!
HERE you can read my constructive critisism on those FAQ answers,
which also makes absolutely clear how they could've very easily done so very much better.
Also note that these are my opinions - you are free to make your own decisions.
| LESTAT & JESSE - BOOKS VS. MOVIE |
| WHY THE HATE? |
| THE PRODUCER OF THE FILM; ON LESTAT AND JESSE |
LESTAT & JESSE - BOOKS VS. MOVIE
In the book:
As said, and the dudes on the commentary track of the Queen of the Damned DVD keep repeating it too; there is no Lestat & Jesse pairing in the books, at any point, on any level.
The only time Lestat even sees Jesse is when she jumps on the stage in Lestat's concert and she does so only to try and find out if he's a vampire for real.
They've nothing for each others in the books, except Lestat may have seen her as an interesting fan but nothing more.
Jesse is 15 years older than Lestat and never reads Lestat's journal. It's Claudia's journal she finds and reads.
She's totally different kind of personality too (as are most of the other characters.) Jesse's actually nothing like the film's version, while other film-version characters manage to have some in-characterness with them.
They just took Jesse's name and where she works and created their own horrible stupid-little-fan-girl character. Poor, poor original Jesse.
Jesse is turned into a vampire in the end of Queen of the Damned book for the same reason that is in order to save her life, but she's not turned by Lestat and the reason why she was dying, was totally different
and she is not part of the actual ending of the story.
In the movie:
Well, obviously, there is the so-called "relationship" between Lestat and Jesse.
Jesse seems to be around Lestat's age instead of 15 years older, and she reads his journal instead of Claudia's.
She's obsessed with Lestat, clearly. Even David in the film says so. She risked her life and dismissed all commonly known morals, in efforts to get to him.
She's also a borderline stalker; I'm sure if the film's timeline had been longer, her actions and attitudes would've qualified as stalking.
If you've seen any stalker movies or studied real life cases, you know stuff like 'you can't live without me / I can't live without you / I know we're meant to be / I'll follow you until you go out with me (and again and again and again)' are very common, with stalkers.
And this film's Jesse clearly thinks Lestat wants and needs her and that she's the only one who understands him. Some of that is actually literally in the original script and does shine through in the final film.
Not forgetting how she,
with all that attitude, indeed follows him around regardless of the fact how Lestat made
very clear that she isn't his type and that he doesn't want her in his life. He did this twice, both times when she met him. But she appeared near him a third time, screaming out his name, wanting his attention, for no valid reason other than her obsession
and stubborness to get him for her own, no matter what he himself might feel and want.
I guess his fatal mistake was to take her to a flying trip for no valid reason I can think of. Except maybe out of the goodness of his heart, to amuse a fan. He should've known better after studying rock music history and thus certainly learned about the stalker danger, too.
Hence, had this shit gone on for a longer period of time, she would be officially a stalker, while in the film's short timeline she falls under the title of a borderline stalker.
And she's somewhat bitchy; She talks in bitchy tones lines such as "Lestat, I know something that's not in your journal. You still have the violin, don't you. No, I understand. It's only human."
and "How are you gonna spend what may be your last night on earth, Lestat - as you always have? Alone?" (Lestat: "Why not?") "Why not share it with me?" It's not that much what she says there but the tone she says them in.
Maybe she's also a little arrogant, and she obviously doesn't care what's good for herself or is just too dumb to comprehend it;
She's heard Lestat's songs, she's read his journal and she's ought to know vampires are fatal and yet still she sticks her nose into the vampires' night club without any weapon to defend herself with.
And eventually she
wants to become a vampire
even though she's in a fully good and strong health.
Eventually they had him turn her in order to save her life and supposedly as if because he loved her and they have them in the very last scene.
I go detailly indepth with all this later.
WHY THE HATE?
There are 3 over-all reasons I go in detail with.
In the end there's "In short" part but I ask you to bother to read these longer reasonings too
because alone the short version does not make it nearly as clear but if read after all this, it ought to make it all extremely clear.
| 1. RIDICULOUS STORYLINE & NO CHEMISTRY |
| 2. SHE'S NOT HIS TYPE | 3. BOOK? WHAT BOOK? |
1. This pairing has no believable chemistry nor storyline what-so-ever, in other words the relationship story doesn't work.
| THR OFFICIAL VERSION (THE FILM) |
| THRE ORIGINAL SCRIPT |
| JESSE VS. MARIUS |
THE OFFICIAL VERSION (THE FILM)
Marius & Lestat = father & son.
Jesse & Lestat = stalker & victim / so-called "lovers".
Even the producer of this film agrees there is no chemistry nor realistic storyline.
Not with those exact words but when you put together "far less likely to fall for" and "fate",
it's the same thinhg. Yet he likes to think their ending makes sense. Why that is so very delusional thing to say,
becomes semi-indepth clear in the "The producer of the film; On Lestat and Jesse" subsection here.
But now - let's look very indepth into the storyline and chemitsry.
I know Lestat is different personality in this film from what he is in the books. But it doesn't automatically mean that the film Jesse and the film Lestat would make a good and working couple.
The only personality features they have in common seem to be that they're both stubborn and irresponsible & somewhat arrogant.
Not much to build the "love story of the century" on. Especially when Jesse got first attracted to him by his music video and just wanted to learn about vampires, and
Lestat doesn't even show interest in her - he notices her & saves her life in the first place
only because she happens to mention Marius's name, claiming to know the man. And when Lestat finds out she lied, he clearly intents to kill her.
No wonder - she lied about someone extremely dear to him and deeply missed person - just to save her own ass from a death trap she got herself into because of her own utter stupidity.
Some say "she's just a little bit impulsive, not an idiot." I stick to my opinion that she's an idiot. It must have taken her a remarkable amount of time to get to that vampire night club. London is the largest city in the world. So it's not like she didn't have plenty of time to realize the consequences of her undertaking and make a survival plan. She didn't, she went there without anything to defend herself with.
Some also say "by reading the book I think Lestat was perfectly capable of doing that himself so why the hell hate someone for that?" I don't think Lestat was ever capable of doing that exactly.
Let's think about the books for a sec then. The wolves for example: He left for the hunt alone because there was no one else in his village capable of it and he felt it was his responsibility. And he had a horse, two good hunting dogs and numerous guns with him. And no fear whatsoever, which feeling was an alien to him.
But was fear alien to Jesse? No - she was terrified and uncomfortable in the club and so had to improvise by lying her soul out and then she ran like a little girl
and then would've been totally killed if Lestat hadn't saved her beause of her lie.
Lestat on his behalf in the wolf hunt did what he came to do - killed the wolves and even though he almost got killed himself, he survived because of his own stanima and bravery.
He was not impulsive nor idiotic - he'd considered the possibilities and consequences beforehand and taken everything necessary with him.
Lestat in the books being hopelessly reckless, as in for example bracking to Gabrielle how he would've beaten one of the attacking vampires that were hunting them in the end even though he probably was more close to dying himself?
And Gabrielle said "Monsieur, you are an imp. You're impossible. What did Marius himself say? The damnedest creature."
Lestat had Louis and Gabrielle there to help him, plus he thought Marius was somewhere out there nearby, protecting him too, so of course his attitude was that.
And the Akasha/Enkil statue incident...He sincerely thought nothing would happen and it was potentially true. As in again, on both events, he considered the consequences and chances.
But no one smart thinks 'nothing will happen' if they stick their nose to a vampire night club being human themselves. And Lestat knew he had Marius to save him if needed.
Lestat does a lot of things "just to see what happens", he is impulsive, but he is not stupid. He knows how to stay alive. Unlike some others.
Back to the film now, where Lestat was just about to kill Jesse for what she had done; Jesse avoids the kill by making an assumption of Lestat's song "Redeemer" being about "the girl with the violin" of who she had read from his journal.
Of course she was right and Lestat begins to wonder how the hell did she even know about that girl and begins to pressure her to tell him more about himself.
Doing this by omenious tone and pushing her against the wall, and her thumb into broken glass or something, making her bleed and starts to suck her blood.
Jesse in her desperate attempts to remain calm and thinking straight, happens to literally quote the last line from Lestat's journal -
so making him realize she knows stuff about him because she's read his journal. This of course doesn't please him at all. His next comment about Jesse is a clear insult
and said from the bottom of his heart, which also tells us why he after all, wouldn't kill her there and then: "Don't worry, Jesse. Your kind never satisifies my thirst."
At later point she's again stalked Lestat and wants him to turn her into a vampire. To "show" her "what it's like". She didn't seem to comprehend that one can't just show what it's like and then unshow it. There's no way back to mortality.
Lestat doesn't want to and then takes her to a flying trip around the city.
Thdat is so random! As if there wasn't many much more interesting persons to hang around with, like Marius, or his band.
But at least this enables her almost getting killed by falling, and has him talk beautifully about mortality:
So it's her humanity as it is, not her as a person, that stirs this only warm moment he shows towards her.
He says: "Marius was right. I never understood until I met you. You're beautiful to me because you're human. Your frailty. Your short years. Your heart - even as you think it's breaking.
All that - seems suddenly more precious than anything I've ever known." She
still wants to become a vampire.
She tempts him by carving a bleeding wound (on her breast, which also is rather shallow as if sexuality with him is all she thinks about.)
I'd be somewhat offended if someone dismissed my heartfelt and wise words like that.
Lestat wouldn't turn her at that point but scared her to have a change of mind. Before she voices it out, he's so clearly going to grant her her wish,
in very much annoyed and aggressive tone. When she says "no", the tone in which he saya his words "No. Of course you don't." sounded very much like 'Damnit, dumbass - did it really have to take this much for you to get it?
I just
told you why being human is precious.'
There's a deleted scene where Jesse talks about her dreams where she's amongst vampires and happy.
That would explain why she wanted to become a vampire but doesn't change the fact in the film she didn't tell that to Lestat and so ended up offending him.
And even if she told him, this wouldn't yet make sense to why Lestat would want her in any way. He would understand and sympathize her but this would not make her any more appealing or attractive to him as a person to live with, as a companion.
The two don't even talk too much to each others and when they do, it's clearly annoyed and disgusted reactions from Lestat's side. Just look at his facial expressions, listen to his voice.
And I already said why I saw he didn't want to kill her in the end. And yet - in the very end, they suddenly walk hand in hand, happily as if very much in love.
IN-DEPTH & DETAILED ANALYSIS:
Everything that truly was about love and bond, in the story (and I'm talking purely about the film's story now), is in the very final scene ignored and thrown to garbage box to have their own "lovers" end up together.
In the film, Lestat was clearly fascinated by Akasha - in the first place when he meets her as a statue and a little even when he meets her in person - and he even more clearly could not live without Marius, (his father),obsessing to find him, to get him back. Becoming suicidally depressed and being obviously deeply touched the moment Marius leaps on the stage to protect him from actually being killed. And naturally, Marius does this because he loves Lestat so much that he would risk his own life to even try to save him. He DID - there was no way he could've with absolute certainty succeded and survived alive on the stage with all those vampires surrounding them. Not even though he was an ancient. Without Akasha's appearance - they would've both been killed right there. Unless of course if they flew away, which they were both capable of but I'm certain Lestat would not agree to do that even if it was Marius telling him. Would Marius have forced him to? Probably yes - sure as hell he would not see the kid getting himself killed because of his stanima and recklessness, even if those are ones of the things in Lestat Marius strongly loves. But the point was that Marius loved Lestat enough to risk his own life to try and rescue Lestat. And I think it originates from the Bible, the very true saying that there is no greater love than to die in the place of someone else. Which naturally of course equals efforts to save someone by risking your own life.
And I wish to remind you what I already said; Lestat really, really, REALLY wanted Marius back in this film. Starting from calling for him many times even though he never got an answer, noticing and saving someone he doesn't even know, just to find out if they know marius, inteniting to kill them if they don't know Marius,
looking like Heaven just opened up in front of his eyes when he first saw Marius in the reunion scene, well, I could go on but I think I've made my point.
But as for Jesse - his so-called sweetheart in the final scene, who he walks with, hand in hand, smiling...
...he notices and saves her life only because she mentioned Marius's name and intents to kill her when finds out she doesn't know Marius and had lied about knowing him to save her own sorry ass from her own idiotic undertaking,
and knew about the man only because she had snooped around his private journal pages. Who wouldn't hate someone like that, seeing to how much Lestat loves Marius and had missed him for centuries.
So he insults her with a "Your kind never satisfies my thirst.", which is why he didn't kill her after all.
And I analysed earlier in this Official Version part, why she is not just impulsive but impulsive idiot.
When he gets home he seems somewhat impressed that she had figured out he still had the violin and probably hated her a bit less because she had stated the journal had touched her.
But then, he seems to have forgotten about her. She may have impressed him to a degree but still the basics - her undertakings and attitudes in the first impression, were downright horrible and hateable.
As later when Jesse makes her second appearance, he seems surprised and asks her in a sincere and
slightly frustrated tone that why is she following him and what does she want - hence, HE doesn't want anything from her.
And he says with disgusted expression and in annoyed and almost angered tone that he doesn't have time for her wishes, which wishes by the way were brainless. She argues his decision with a bitchy tone and for some unexplainable reason, he chooses to take her to a flying trip - to hang around with her when there would've been Marius around to spend time with and who he had obsessed about to get back for 200 years. But oh yeah, what is that possibility worth after only such a short time as 200 years of desperation and loneliness and yearning for the man. Not much, apparently. And even if we thought Lestat was mad enough at Marius not to want to spend a night with him, there were his band and his adoring fans who he naturally loved too. But why bother to spend time with them - he only said earlier that he had wanted the fans worship with all his black little heart. So let us just have him spend his night with this brainless twat, who he has clearly expressed he hates and doesn't want around.
And the way she speaks to him certainly shouldn't have stirred his interest to any new direction.
After the flying trip Jesse almost gets killed by falling, which makes Lestat talk beaytifully about humanity and mortality, clearly saying he finds Jesse beautiful because she's
human. He loves her
humanity and thinks humanity is precious. He doesn't even imply in any ways that he'd love
her. Jesse dismisses all this, begging him to let her be with him even though he never said he wanted that. She's begging him to kill in her the only thing he finds beautiful and interesting about her.
And she does this in such a shallow way as with drawing the wound on her breast. It's not exactly suggesting the right thing in her caring about his loneliness... And for some unknown reason again, he almost does turn her into a vampire. WHAT THE FUCK?! Way to go! No!!
However he stops just in time, violently pushes her as far from himself as he could, and becomes angry and offended. (Gees, I wonder why!? Could it be her total disrespect for his feelings and values about humanity/mortality!?)
And soon enough clearly intents to kill her again / tun her with anything but loving attitude.
So at this point she has only added to the horrible first impression by keeping up the brainless and disrespectve tactic in trying to get to Lestat.
Then in the concert, Jesse brainlessly screams out his name and wants his attention for no reason that I can think of, whatsoever, while Lestat doesn't seem to even remember she exists. And when Marius appears on the stage, Lestat clearly forgets about everything else but Marius and how much fun he's having kicking the vampire ass with Marius.
With Akasha he clearly forgot about everyone but Akasha herself until he saw what Akasha really was like and that he had slaughtered mortals with her.
So, when Akasha tells him to kill Jesse and he says "She's nothing to me." he most certainly really meant that but why he didn't want to kill her,
was most likely because he already had killed so many mortals because of Akasha though he wasn't on her side.
The only thing Jesse had on her side for Lestat's good books was "it touched me" about his journal and that she had understood one bit of it on some deeper level.
That
really isn't much when looked at the entire picture of what she had said and done all along, which includes numerous major offensive attitudes and actions and total lack of respect towards him.
Some suggest that "maybe he just pretended to hate her, being afraid/uncomfortable to show love"? NO. Why would he pretend hate, when she's given and continued giving him numerous reasons to really, genuinely hate her!?
If something Lestat in this film tries to hide, (and fails to do so), is his happiness about Marius's return.
Or "maybe he hated her in the beginning and then began to love her"? NO. 'Cause where's the sense in that?
You can not just throw away/dismiss all the deeply emotional and psychological reasons for hate, which as said would be genuine, real hate. Which she by the way, as pointed out, kept fireing up all along before the concert -
during and after which, they don't even talk to each other or meet anymore before the end, so that anything could make him hate her less.
So, love, is just way too strong and big of a feeling to find a place in that kind of a lack of chemitry and a storyline like that.
Plus, his precious Marius had returned and he and Lestat had in the concert made up and were all friends again -
Lestat would not even feel a desire or need for a new companion anyway.
So why the hell is he with Jesse in that hand-in-hand tone in the end, instead of having killed her off from bothering him, feeling even remotely sad about Akasha's death and enjoying Marius's company with all his black little heart? And not only does he hang around with J and not do those other things but he hangs with Jesse who he had turned into a vampire, so killing in her the only thing he ever found beautiful about her and so there should be no valid reason for him to care about even her exsistance at all at the point.
I think the only valid reason for him to turn her into a vampire would be that he didn't want her to die just because of someone like Akasha, who he clearly didn't exactly love. But then again he obviosuly hated Jesse more than he didn't love Akasha, so... But then again, I think he respected Maharet, who Jesse clearly was important to.
So, after Akasha's death, he goes to Jesse and even looks up as if making a wish or something; that wish was most likely that he still has time to turn her into a vampire, so he wouldn't have yet another human life on his conscience because of his wayward behavour with Akasha. Marius's values which he respected probably had to do with that as well.
And as said, also Maharet's care for Jesse. NOT as if Lestat would love Jesse.
So after that act, he would've realistically and logically left Jesse with Maharet and hope beyond hope that she leaves him alone - and been sad about Akasha and how he can no longer be a rockstar but must remain in shadows again, and sought and received comfort in Marius's company.
This film has one of the most self-mocking storylines I've ever had the dispelasure to witness. And the saddest thing is I'm not even sure if the film makers see it. And, to add the insult to injury; they butchered the borrowed material (from the books) in the name of something they didn't even make work.
So you see the storyline and lack of chemistry is just ridiculous in the ofiicial version that is the film.
| THR OFFICIAL VERSION (THE FILM) |
| THRE ORIGINAL SCRIPT |
| JESSE VS. MARIUS |
THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT
But the original script doesn't help the matter to change for better:
Even though it had the storyline's more believable because they talk more,
even in friendly tones, and Jesse's got depth, BUT they lack chemistry - for one
because;
they
still had her being the same personality; she still is nevertheless the same stalky, bitchy and too-dumb-for-her-own-good herself
as she is in the final version that is what we see in the film,
and thus, still so not Lestat's type, so not someone he'd realistically be even interested in.
Only, unlike in the film, where she doesn't have depth at all - in that original script's storyline they actually have him interested in her just because she's mortal and in-depth thinker too.
As if he hadn't met other mortal in-depth thinkers in his 200+ years - and many probably much more his type.
His interest in her is just so fake. The Jesse VS. Marius part explains it even better.
| THR OFFICIAL VERSION (THE FILM) |
| THRE ORIGINAL SCRIPT |
| JESSE VS. MARIUS |
They almost dismissed Marius and forced Jesse in, making this relationship all the more fake all the way;
the original script also tries to make Lestat into a totally lonely indiividual and Jesse into "the only person who really knows and understands Lestat and loves him for who he is", the one that "Lestat desires".
When in fact Marius (with who Lestat has a pure father-son relationship) was the only person who really knew Lestat and understood him - Marius was the one Lestat desired to have by his side.
Marius is the person that comforts him, the one he couldn't even think of leaving,
according to his own words, so I'm not analyzing it out of nowhere. What that does make me think is that the loving father is more precious to Lestat than anything else.
Jesse's personality: (Most of this is detaily reasoned in the Lestat & Jesse Books VS. Movie part's "In movie" part, there, above); she's stalky, bitchy, obsessive and too-dumb-for-her-own-good & tried to inmpress him with all her in-depth analyzing on his inner life.
Knowing and understanding Lestat: Jesse cheated. She read his in-depth, heartfelt thoughts from his journal and then analyzed them.
Doing that doesn't have you really
know a person because it's still just words on paper, no matter how much written from the heart. You have to live with the person, and you have to
watch their life, their behavour methods, their undertakings,
you have to really talk with them - all this for a long time and for real.
Jesse did none of that, so Jesse could not have known who Lestat truly is
and thus also not exactly either love him for that.
Marius's personality: wise, gentle, compassionate, loving, patient and deep, and he wasn't obsessive to make Lestat do something or talk about things he clearly wished not to.
He gave Lestat space, yet was always there for him when he really needed. Even though Lestat doesn't love Marius romantically, the point is he does
love him. And if this is the kind of persoanlity Lestat generally taken loves, something like Jesse couldn't stir his love of any tone
not to mention make him want to share eternity with her.
Even though the film version of Marius isn't too purely all that because they fucked him up by combining his personality with Magnus, who is Lestat's maker in the books - they still shhowed Lestat was VERY much bound to him emotionally and wanted Marius into his life and not Jesse.
As said Lestat told he called out for Marius many times since they parted, he noticed and saved Jesse only because she mentioned Marius, he intended to kill her when found out she doesn't know Marius, and the way Lestat looks at Marius in the first moments
0of the reunion scene... and the deeply touched look in Lestat's eyes when he looks at Marius who had just leapt on the stage to protect him.
Not to mention how Lestat obviously forgets all his worries after that moment. This film's Lestat LOVED this film's Marius and clearly Marius was the one Lestat wanted.
You see, regardless of the film Marius giving a random, shallow reason for choosing Lestat, it obviously had come clear to Lestat that, that reason wasn't true.
But that Marius had for one thing wanted to be his father. If Lestat had been left in the impression that Marius wouldn't want him but only for some random reason, Lestat couldn't have grown to love the man so deeply.
But he had, so obviously the time had shown Lestat why Marius truly chose him and formed extremely strong love and bond between them.
And it's proved also in Marius's efforts to protect Lestat and to risk his own life to try and save Lestat's life.
Knowing and understanding Lestat: Marius never read all about Lestat and then claimed to know and understand him and all that stuff.
Marius watched him, he lived with him and he listened to him, had long conversations and all that stuff.
He genuinely loved Lestat for who he is, he knew and understood Lestat and he had all the valid base to do so. Because HE was meant for Lestat.
They fucked up the true father-son relationship and it's strength and extreme significance to Lestat and replaced it with clearly forced, fake mortal-immortal "romance"
and tried to make it into what the father-son relationship was in significance.
The official vision; the film, does this too, only the original script shows the abuse clearly.
("Romance" as in even the producer of the film - thank Heaven's - admits it's not exactly romance.)
SO, the original script makes this pairing even
worse with all it's desperate efforts to pair them for "the love story of the century", while
they just clearly do not fit together and the "relationship" has no genuine base to begin with (hence, Jesse cheated and became obsessive stalker.)
They're trying to paint them as lovers clearly just because Jesse needed to become a vampire and Lestat happens to be one and they wanted a cliche love story between a mortal and a vampire.
I hate Twilight too but Lestat & Jesse ship is even worse. Far more worse, because it's not just empty and pointless but it's story and lack of chemitsry realistically supports hate instead of love and tsill the film idiotically suggests that they fall in love.
And in this so-called "romance" a truly awesome and in-depth character, (Lestat), suffers
great injustice. It's actually offending the character that they first dismiss the most vital relationship he originally has and then try to pair him with someone like this film-version of Jesse, especially when the story doesn't even work with no chemistry -
and how could it when she's not Lestat's type.
I've nothing really against a human-paranormal-creature-love-story idea as it is but I just hate when it's porrly written and / or in the wrong place.
Twilight is poorly written and the characters unoriginal and uninteresting. Lestat & Jesse is even more poorly written and as said,
that love-story thing doesn't belong here by not exsisting in the books and by exsisting in the film it's dismissing every other relationship.
Really, I'm so sick of all the "This song really fits them!", "This song screams Lestat & Jesse!" - NO, it does NOT -
not even with the original script.
They could
not be in love and
certainly would
not die for each other or anything such, well, at least Lestat wouldn't for Jesse, exactly because of the lack of chemistry and the fact Jesse's so not his type.
And then added to that significant basic, the horribly written stoylines, there is no way in hell any love song would fit them, not to mention scream them.
No but it's completely the other way around; combining love songs to them is just pure irony and painful to those who actually understand what and how relationships and love should be in order to fit such visions.
Ironic with the love songs trying to claim them be and feel something they are/do not when looking at the truth.
No matter if it's the film or the earlier scripts you study, (I've linked to it later) - with all honesty - if you look at the whole picture and into it, and maybe also think of all I've just analyzed, you can see that as a love story/relationship it's just so very fake and forced.
In fact, more realistic would be that eventually Lestat would become truly hate her, as he already in the film feels disgusted and annoyed.
Hate would soon come if she kept on being dumb, lying about Lestat's loved ones, reading his journals,
dismissing his wise and reasonable words, and following him around when he clearly signals he doesn't want her around.
If this part didn't make clear why they don't have chemistry and don't fit together, read the reason number 2.
A fellow hater,
offbeatgirl, made a good point, when commenting on my hate video "Lestat to Jesse - Had Enough" on
it's comment book:
"...And there would have to be some interaction between her and Marius, as she would be capable of understanding why he is so important in Lestat's life. (Point: If Marius is really like Lestat's father, wouldn't he have some remote concern about who the love of his life is? There was like zero interaction between Jesse and Marius in the movie at all.)"
Well, yes, while Marius IS the father Lestat had always wanted and needed, this film doesn't show it in the right tone and strength.
The BOOK's Marius DOES care about who his son hangs around with in any case, not to mention about who the love of his life would be.
But the film version Marius is rather a paradox of that and Magnus (the vampire who makes Lestat in the book), who didn't care to even be alive for Lestat as a vampire 'father'
and probably wouldn't have played an actual father anyways but been just the maker - the film Marius mixed with that and even weighted on that.
And that is probably why they didn't have Jesse and Marius in any way connected. So as said, it is so, SO wrong they fucked up the true father-son relationship and replaced it with and focused on that forced, unrealistic "romance".
| 1. RIDICULOUS STORYLINE & NO CHEMISTRY |
| 2. SHE'S NOT HIS TYPE | 3. BOOK? WHAT BOOK? |
2. Jesse's so not Lestat's type.
As said even though this film's Lestat's partly different from what he is in the books, he's not THAT much different, and as explained in the Books VS. Movie part, she's rather stalky, bitchy and too dumb / nosey / careless for her own good.
Lestat's careless and irresponsible in the bratty way. He causes himself trouble to get (Marius's) attention -
not to try and get something that's not good for him unlike Jesse does. Lestat's deep and artistic soul and even if the original script Jesse happens to have some depth into her too, it doesn't really make up for being stalky, obsessive, bitchy and too dumb for her own good.
This film's Jesse just doesn't seem anything like his kind of persona would be love-interested in and as lampood in the above part, in the official version that is the film, he clearly wasn't.
And that's realistic - I mean why would such a soul as Lestat fall for and want to spend eternity with someone who reads other people's journals, doesn't know when to leave someone alone, talks in bitchy tones and doesn't know how to stay alive?
I admit Jesse does seem to understand Lestat to a degree. But that only makes her good in psychological analysing - it doesn't make her a suitable companion for him.
She may care about him. But none of that makes her the right one for Lestat. To be the right one for someone takse ALSO
chamistry, which they don't have what-so-ever AND being the right one takes respect towards the other person and Jesse obviously doesn't respect Lestat's privacy nor his opinions.
Yet suddenly in the end hand in hand they walk smiling... I wonder who blackmailed him into doing so. They're not enough alike, and they certainly are not soulmates.
As said, even the producer admits this. That she's not his type. He said "Lestat is far less likely to fall for Jesse than she with him" and was forced to
throw in "fate" for a reason why they'd end up together and fate, dear reader, is something used when logic fails.
He also said "bring them together in a way he never would have predicted" which only proves my points more.
He did not find her interesting as a lover or any kind of companion that is but apparently the producer's precious fate decided otherwise.
More on this in the "The producer of this film; On Lestat and Jesse" sucsection.
| 1. RIDICULOUS STORYLINE & NO CHEMISTRY |
| 2. SHE'S NOT HIS TYPE | 3. BOOK? WHAT BOOK? |
3. They waste almost half of the movie - in the original script literally that much if not even more - with this bullshit pairing
which also dismisses every important relationships and turns the ending upside dwon.
Already juat the fact that they waste half of a movie that's supposed to be an adaptation of a book, with something that doesn't exsist in the book in question, in any level but what they made up totally themselves - is freakin' moronic.
But it wasn't enough for them - they had to butcher everything that is significant in the source material:
In the book's ending, after Akasha was destroyed - in which events I don't recall Jesse playing any part in - the remaining vampires form a coven
and come up with a new rule, which forbids anyone to make any more vampires.
Lestat remains in-doors, writing his book "Queen of the Damned" and mourning Akasha's fate.
He did stand on the good guys' side in her destruction but she had captured his heart so it wasn't easy for him.
BUT in the movie's ending Jesse plays a pretty big part in the destruction of Akasha, though not directly in destroying her.
Lestat doesn't seem to care about Akasha the least bit, though not exactly about Jesse either.
I could see the reason why he didn't wish to kill Jesse was because she wasn't on Akasha's side (which is true to the books, fortunately.)
Well, that WOULD be a realistic reason for it but I bet they were aiming at theif so-called love story.
In the book's ending Marius comes to Lestat, trying to get him finally come out and join the others, realizes what Lestat's writing
and they have a longish discussion about...many things.
The significant details seeing to this point are:
- Marius makes a statement that Lestat's burning with dissatisfaction because he can no longer be a rockstar and yet it's the mortals' love he wants, and that they, his vampire friends, can't comfort him - or can they?
To which Lestat replies: "You comfort me. AH of you. I couldn't even think of leaving you, not for very long, anyway."
This was refering to how Marius played the loving and patient father to Lestat, who had yearned for someone to do so, all his human life and the 9 years as a vampire before Marius finally came to him.
So, the father he had in Marius meant more to him than anything else, ever. He could take anything as long as Marius was there for him. Marius comforted him and he could not even think of leaving Marius, not for long, anyways.
- Later in this same discussion, Lestat gives a devilish hint that he's going to stick his nose into Talamasca, which Marius of course strictly forbids.
And Marius was serious, meant every word and according to Louis, (who hung around as a disapproving babysitter, when Lestat after all eventually stuck his nose into Talamasca, breaking 3 rules at once),
"Lestat! Marius will be furious if you do this! The cardinal rule is-", which was interrupted by Lestat's statement of how Louis was making it irresistable.
So it is Lestat, who goes into Talamasca and bugs David Talbot in efforts to offer him the Dark Gift, in other words to turn him into a vampire.
Lestat doesn't exactly say he will but that he might, if David wanted it. Marius is nowhere around at this point. Only Lestat and Louis. And Marius probably doesn't even know yet that Lestat's been misbehaving
again.
And Lestat's final words, which are directed to Louis are
"Come on, sayi it again. I'm a perfect devil. Tell me how bad I am. It makes me feel so good!"
BUT in the movie's ending In the very end Lestat and Jesse walk out from Talamasca house, hand in hand, smiling happily as if they were in love, and Marius walks into the Talamasca,
and they leave us assuming Marius was to turn David Talbot into a vampire.
And as lampood above, Lestat would never leave Marius for long, and most definitely not for some so-called romantic love (especially if it was someone like Jesse) - and that Marius would not
meddle with Talamasca as he wouldn't allow Lestat to do so either and if Louis was right, would also be furious if Lestat did it anyway. He's a good daddy, he's not the "don't-do-as-I-do--do-as-I-say" type.
And the whole picture makes it seem as if Lestat changed from a brat to grown-up person and "love saved him". Gosh. Lestat would NEVER change
and in the books it clearly was only Marius, who could affect his bratness in a positive way - Marius is the only vampire Lestat openly respects.
All this makes the film's ending version so totally fucked up. And endings are the most important parts of a story.
I know they changed the storylines and characters radically all along but all the other stuff in the film didn't make it necessary to change the ending that radically
and having at least the ending right, could've made this film much more appreciatable as an adaptation.
And as said, I think it's clear that, their Lestat & Jesse paring caused them to do the change.
| 1. RIDICULOUS STORYLINE & NO CHEMISTRY |
| 2. SHE'S NOT HIS TYPE | 3. BOOK? WHAT BOOK? |
IN SHORT:
This pairing doesn't work in any way, has no chemistry, she's not his type at all, and this pairing dismisses too many, too significant
true relationships and facts. This pairing doesn't have a place in this film's story as long a sthose other relationships that truly belong into it, exsist.
And it's no wonder since Anne Rice didn't write Lestat to have such a relationship with Jesse or anyone else. Those script writers shouldn't have been allowed to write this adaptation as they obviously didn't care about the books but wanted to do their totally own story.
They make themselves look even more huge asses by stating on the commentary track that "even though we didn't stay that loyal to the books, we tried to keep the spirit of the books and that I think we succeeded" or something like that.
How
could they possibly keep the spirit of the books in when they dismiss all the important relationships and character personalities and even the core elements of the story, which were the vampire history and Akasha herself?
It's so hateable not only for being horribly written, doing injustice to Lestat (and Jesse) as characters, and dismissing all that's true, but also because one of the most outstanding elements of Anne Rice's beautiful work is exactly the fact there is no mortal-paranormal-creature love story shit of that type
and those idiots made the movie all about exactly that. The true The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned are high above the unoriginal paranormal-creature love thing,
and the characters are far from something so horribly written and unoriginal as the film makers' versions especially of Jesse, is.
You can see now why I `wouldn't even bother to hate the entire film even if it didn't have anything good in it but I think it does. I already hate so intensively these things that really matter -
I'd go gray-haired if I didn't appreciate and like anything in the film. I couldn't give a shit about the character hair colours or the accents they talk with and such.
Why should I care anyway when those details wouldn't affect the characters or the story, and when all the above mentioned is far more bad and significant.
So, I do love this movie in general; for the casting - I think everyone were perfect for their roles and acted naturally and well,
the music is awesome - especially Lestat's songs, the atmosphere is nicely dark and rockish and stuff like that is really loveable in this film,
but this Lestat & Jesse pairing fucks it up too significantly.
But I can in the end somehow bear anything they did with the thought that there's nothing I can do about it,
but not the basic fact that they in the first place refused to let Anne involve/write the script though she offered to do that, and told her they'd do whatever they wanted.
It simply turns my stomach every damn time I think about it.
How can anyone say/do that to an author, and to the fans?!?!?!
In my opinion that is the ultimate unforgivable thing.
And the next in the rank would in my opinion be the basic things in what they practically did;
the fucking up of entire relationships; Lestat&Marius, Lestat&Akasha and making up a ridculous own relationship...
Here's online version of
the original script.
Also, check out my
~The Secret of Eternity~ - Lestat & Marius Fan site.
Because this film abuses that relationship extremely from the very beginning but in the deepest it stays somewhat trueful to the original.
I go very in-depth there about everything as well the film's version individually as the books's. And I also tell more widely about my opinions on the Queen of the Damned film and stuff related to it.
<JORGE SARALEGUI, THE PRODUCER OF THE FILM; ON LESTAT & JESSE
”Let me clarify that in our movie, Lestat and Jesse do not mirror Romeo and Juliet, although they do share some similarities. I agree that Lestat is much less likely to fall for Jesse than she with him.”
Good for him to see that! But I honestly don't think that's too far from plain unlikely, as they are forced to throw in "fate" because of the feeble base combined to no chemitry and unrealistic storyline. As follows here:
”However, certain aspects of her could intrigue him, maybe even remind him of what makes humans special... and then fate or circumstances could bring them together in a way that he would never have predicted."
Intrigue him, and the being human thing…? Makes a personal love interest/relationship truly potential, like, how? Seriously, people forget how deep and strong feeling love really is. And then… Fate? HA. Fate is suggested always when logic fails! The same with the ”in a way he could’ve never predicted”. In fact, it only proves the point more, that he never found Jesse THAT interesting, since he never thought he would end up together with her.
And the logic really, really fails here miserably in every way. 'Cause really, what of the circumstances? Of course circumstances always bring together anyone and anything. But those particular ones? Lestat is lonely and suicidal, calling out for Marius even without an answer, and almost killing Jesse who had lied about Marius. Only a few days before Marius's return Lestat has been followed around by this Jesse who he clearly rather genuinely hates and doesn't want around (and really has valid reasons for that!) Well, yes, MARIUS COMES BACK and he and Lestat forgive each other! As for Akasha's part, she too strongly connects MARIUS and Lestat in emotional matters and storyline too. When he saw Akasha's true narutre it would most likely be Marius he thinks of, as he was the one who tried to tell him so but he didn't listen. It would be Marius he would want to talk about it and deal with. And in the first place he wasn't even looking for any romantic company but just company and attention, and particularry Marius he obviously loved and wanted back. So how the HELL are those circumstances put together, as all of them do matter, supposed to bring Lestat and Jesse together (the hate weighterd thing with a feeble base for anything else) instead of him and Marius (the unconditional love thing and 200 years of waiting for a reunion.) NO, in those circumstances you do NOT end up together with the chick you rather hate but with the father you cried out for 200 years and had now back in your life after a huge encounter with the one who seperated you those two centuries ago. So, seeing to that they had the ending the opposite of that, their little story meetings before filming began, were fucked up.
So… fate, (the substitute for logic that desperate people suggest), or those circumstances, they say. So basically they admit there is no chemistry what-so-ever and no realistic storyline, and no way in hell he would acturlly downright fall in love (romantically) with her. And as I analysed, the circumstances don't support the ending either. No way the film's end could have any emotional logic. So they majorly fucked up but can't admit it and throw in "fate" just in case. (He did mention the "fate" first, obviously uncertain of if the circumstances would do the trick and they indeed so do NOT.) But at least they admit he wouldn't exactly love her. At least they have a clue!
”The story is seen from the point of view of Lestat (the vampire) and to a lesser degree Jesse (the human), with a great deal of gap-bridging provided by Marius.”
Yeah, that’s just it! The gap-bridge Marius provides is by Jesse’s lie about knowing the man, done in outrageously selfish situation while Lestat is desperately missing Marius’s company. Hence, this gap-bridge lead Lestat almost killing Jesse and later on other things lead him to see her kind never satisfies his thrirst. And come on, if she wasn’t worth even killing… Whereas Marius, as just pointed out, was obviously in Lestat’s mind worth killing [i]for[/i]. Marius is who Lestat yearns for in this film’s story. Marius does link them together, yes, but in a very, very negative way. Logically the gap-bridge would’ve crumbled down the very moment Marius leapt on the stage to protect Lestat. Hence, how extremely much Lestat had wanted him back and how that obviously was a moment of forgiveness between them. Why on earth would he care about the lying, obsessed chick at all after that, especially after already anyway, clearly messaging he doesn’t want her around. He had 15 billion adoring human fans to find someone surely much more intriguing than Jesse could ever hope to be. The Lestat/Jesse storyline seriously is fucked up. Which is a major reason for why this film is pain for me as a movie buff.
This was taken from Warner Bros's Queen of the Damned website's F.A.Q.
HERE are my comments on the (almost) entire F.A.Q.
I really
love hating the Lestat/Jesse bullshit. Which, I guess, is as strong as hate can get.