Lily-Rose Depp’s 5 Best Scenes In Nosferatu That Best Highlight Her Incredible Performance

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Nosferatu.

Lily-Rose Depp’s performance as Ellen Hutter in Robert Eggers’ 2024 adaptation of Nosferatu is one of the greatest aspects of the gothic horror film. The 25-year-old Depp, who is the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, has emerged as one of the rising star actresses of her generation. Before Nosferatu, she had notable performances in the Netflix historical epic The King and the divisive HBO series The Idol. Depp’s role as Ellen in Nosferatu presented the greatest challenge of her acting career, which had garnered her newfound acclaim. She leads the cast of Nosferatu alongside Nicolas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, and more.

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Nosferatu takes place in 1838 Germany and follows Ellen as she becomes haunted and possessed by the horrifying vampire Count Orlok, played by the incomparable Bill Skarsgård. Throughout the film, Ellen speaks psychically to Orlok, who is capable of emitting an ancient evil to romantically captivate Ellen. Nosferatu has been remade several times since its groundbreaking first installment was released in 1922. Some have argued that Eggers’ Nosferatu is the best of them all, which makes sense considering the quality of Eggers’ other critically acclaimed films such as The Witch and The Lighthouse.

The Nosferatu: Extended Cut is available to stream exclusively on Peacock.

5

Opening Scene

At The Start Of Nosferatu

Nosferatu begins with one of the most gripping scenes of the entire film as we are introduced to Ellen and her original sin as she calls out to the universe to heal her loneliness. Depp takes the center of the frame with crying eyes, praying into a void for solace from her misery. “Come to me. A guardian angel. A spirit of comfort. Spirit of any celestial sphere. Anything. Hear my call.”

Ellen’s initial desperate prayer is what brought Orlok to her in the first place after she “awakens him from an eternity of darkness.” Depp is exceptional at shifting facial expressions and behaviors to let the audience know when Orlok is in possession of her, which she does masterfully in this opening scene. She also introduces the physical elements of her performance through violent body shakes and seizures to further demonstrate Orlok’s hold of her, setting an eerie tone from the start.

4

Ellen Meets Albin Eberhart Von Franz

1 Hour, 7 Minutes

Image via Focus Features

Ellen is seen intermittently throughout the first hour of Nosferatu as her husband Thomas encounters Count Orlok years after the initial events of the opening scene. Depp speaks of a calling to destiny, which her friend Anna interprets as God or divinity. On the contrary, Professor Albun Eberhart von Franz (played by Willem Dafoe) arrives to visit Ellen after she experiences deep spells and trances that seemingly take her to another realm.

Depp’s physical acting is remarkably effective, communicative, and chilling.

Ellen meets him and explains her history of having premonitions, which makes the professor very interested in her case. Depp gives a moving history of her psychic experience with Orlok and recalls a childhood memory in which she was chastised by her father for sinning. “My dreams grow darker,” she says. “Does evil come within evil or from beyond?” In the next scene, Albin sees her possessed for the first time. Depp’s physical acting is remarkably effective, communicative, and chilling.

3

Ellen Confronts Count Orlock

1 Hour, 29 Minutes

Ellen continues to be tormented by Orlok but doesn’t put a face to the presence until nearly 90 minutes into the film. The confrontation is one of the most memorable of the film as Ellen refuses to offer herself to Orlok, claiming she loves Thomas. Orlok gives her three nights to re-pledge herself to him or else he’ll kill her loved ones. Some of the best dialogue can be found in this scene, which is essentially the heart of the film’s central conflict.

Depp once again exhibits a compelling blend of defiance and submission, doing everything to portray to the viewer Orlok’s hold of her as she weaves in and out of herself.

Depp once again exhibits a compelling blend of defiance and submission, doing everything to portray to the viewer Orlok’s hold of her as she weaves in and out of herself. She carries an air of invincibility against Orlok knowing he will not hurt “his affliction” as he delivers his ultimatum. Her labored breathing in the next scene implies that she had dreamed of the encounter but that doesn’t make it any less real.

2

Ellen Tells Thomas Her Secret

1 Hour, 42 Minutes

This scene is arguably the best in the film as Ellen shifts in and out of herself multiple times, creating pure terror and chaos. Nicolas Hoult shines as the frightened but determined Thomas to foil Ellen’s madness on display after she reveals to him that she has called this darkness to her because of her shameful and desperate loneliness. She calls Orlock her shame, then blames Thomas for deserting her chasing a better life while she wasted away.

If there was any Oscars buzz around Depp’s performance, which there arguably should have been, that would have been the most exemplary scene to support her case.

“I am not to be touched​​​​​​,” she tells Thomas as he tries to console her. Just a moment later, she’s having a wild spell full of disturbing body and facial contortions, which is credited to Depp’s skilled performance. When Ellen becomes fully possessed, she calls for Thomas to have sex with her to show Orlock their love, before finally breaking down into Thomas’s arms. If there was any Oscars buzz around Depp’s performance, which there arguably should have been, that would have been the most exemplary scene to support her case.

1

Ellen’s Final Sacrifice

2 Hours, 4 Minutes

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Ellen bravely succumbs to Orlok at the end of Nosferatu to stop him from killing her loved ones and re-pledges himself to her. She convinces him to continue draining her blood as the sun comes up, which effectively kills Orlok as she rises to hold his head into the sunlight. By the time Thomas returns to Ellen, she is gone, having succumbed to Orlok to save Thomas’s life and those of the townspeople. “Her willing sacrifice broke the curse and freed them from the plague of Nosferatu.”

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Depp gives a stoic, haunted, almost doll-like portrayal of Ellen Hutter in Eggers’ Nosferatu, making it clear why she was cast in the leading role. The physical elements she brings to the performance are entirely convincing. In both her possessed and natural state, her eyes do much of the talking, whether they are distantly staring into space or rolling in the tops of their sockets. Depp received some acknowledgment from regional critics circles for her role in Nosferatu but I’m surprised she wasn’t considered more in the 2025 awards season.

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Nosferatu

R

Horror

Fantasy

Mystery

8/10

157

8/10

Release Date

December 25, 2024

Runtime

132 Minutes

Director

Robert Eggers

Writers

Robert Eggers

Cast

See All

• 

  Bill Skarsgard

  Count Orlok

• 

  Lily-Rose Depp

  Ellen Hutter

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Source: https://truongnguyenbinhkhiem.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment