140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Tilda Swinton & Tom Hiddleston as vampires? Talk about typecasting. Lovely textbook effort from Jarmusch – exactly what you expect & want…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Only Lovers Left Alive:
With all the times I complain about overlong movies, you may get the impression that I have an inherent problem with long, slowly-paced films. Not at all. My issue is with consistency; I expect films to be have a pacing that fits their subject and style. Jim Jarmusch knows exactly what he is doing. When you watch a Jarmusch movie, you know what to expect; if you’re in a hurry, you’re at the wrong picture. And that’s not only fine, it’s appropriate. His films have a great internal integrity; they are remarkably even.
Only Lovers Left Alive is an original story, not based on the 1960’s book of the same name that was so popular with hippie rockers. There’s undoubtedly some inspiration there, though.
Tilda Swinton & Tom Hiddleston star as an old married couple. A very old married couple, as they are ancient vampires named Adam and Eve (of course they are). Despite the waif-thin appearance of the pair, this isn’t your consumptive Victorian vampire tale. Vamps are beings out of time in the modern world, hidden away where they discreetly purchase hospital blood on the red market (heh, heh, couldn’t resist). Seems no one goes around drinking from humans anymore, which gives the whole of vampiric existence a really obvious junkie parallel. Not the first time this has been done, but it mostly works well. There’s also a lot of discussion of blood contamination, which I assume is an AIDS allegory.
Honestly, the pursuit of the sticky stuff and preoccupation with same is the only part of Only Lovers Left Alive that left me kind of flat. The characters and setting are so engaging that I found the vampire aspect of the narrative a bit tiresome. I just wanted to get back to these engrossing lovers.
Only Lovers Left Alive splits time between Eve’s home of Tangier and the desolate Detroit where Adam has isolated himself. Both settings are beautifully-filmed and central to the story, particularly Motor City. Detroit really is a character unto itself as there’s this fantastic analogy/depiction of the city as wilderness that just plays.
As an aside, Only Lovers Left Alive was shot by Yorick Le Saux on the Arri Alexa digital cinema camera; the conversation about the inherent limitations of digital filming is now over. This is gorgeous…
The acting is predictably wonderful – Swinton and Hiddleston seldom disappoint. The small cast is rounded out with Mia Wasikowska as Eve’s sister Ava and Anton Yelchin as Adam’s Renfield. Jeffrey Wright also has a tiny but great part. The capper, though? John Hurt as Christopher Marlowe; ol’ Kit is a vampire – love it!
All Jarmusch films are Atmospheric with a capital A and infused with music and Only Lovers Left Alive is no exception. The music is integral to the tale, as Adam is a musician, desperate to get his art out in the world but obsessed with maintaining privacy. Jozef Van Wissem provides the ambient score, assisted by Jarmusch’s band SQÜRL. It’s lovely, alternating between electric textures and haunting acoustic instruments. There are also some spell-binding performances by White Hills and Yasmine Hamdan.
Like the characters themselves, Only Lovers Left Alive occasionally drifts a bit far into fetishistic territory, obsessing over the details of objects and the Latin names for things. There’s a LOT of name-dropping, from historic figures to scientific principles to guitars. It is nearly certainly an intentional stylistic choice, part of the premise that ancient beings would necessarily place value on minutia, but it is a bit heavy-handed.
I can let that bit of hipster product placement slide, however, because Only Lovers Left Alive is an exquisitely fine film. The acting is top shelf, the music and look of the picture are mesmerizing and the whole affair is captivating. Recommended.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Pass
The Representation Test Score: C (4 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Tilda Swinton Eve Tom Hiddleston Adam Mia Wasikowska Ava John Hurt Christopher Marlowe |
| Rating | R |
| Release Date | Thu 12 Dec 2013 UTC |
| Director | Jim Jarmusch |
| Genres | Drama, Horror, Romance |
| Plot | A depressed musician reunites with his lover, though their romance – which has already endured several centuries – is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 123 |
| Tagline | |
| Writers | Jim Jarmusch (written by) and, Marion Bessay (adaptation) |
| Year | 2013 |
