Only Lovers Left Alive - movie review

Only Lovers Left Alive

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.
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddlestone, Mia Wasikowska
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Rating: 15
Runtime: 2hrs 3 mins
Release Date: Friday 21st February 2014

Long gone are the stereotypical depictions of vampires. No more dramatic capes nor Easter European accents. Cinema has brought the undead bloodsuckers to modern times in various adaptations all leading to mixed results. Of course we have the atrocity of Twilight, but we also have the badassery of Blade. Only Lovers Left Alive now presents an entirely alternate perspective of the vampire genre with a reserved and quiet film. The only problem is, it is often too quiet.

The late Christopher Lee is who comes to mind when asked who the greatest portrayal of a vampire is. In this film, the performances do not rival him but they come close. Tom Hiddlestone and Tilda Swinton star as vampires Adam and Eve (not exactly the most creative of names). Swinton steals this entire film. She has not really won me over that often with the only performance of hers that I truly remember being The White Witch in the Narnia series. As Eve, she is enthralling to watch. The subdued and calm nature of her performance is fantastic to witness and commands this complexity of a movie. The chemistry that she forms between Adam (Hiddlestone) is one of the film's greatest achievement. You completely buy that these two characters are infatuated with each other and their relationship was my favourite aspect of what was, for me, a moderate success of a film. As for Hiddlestone, I am glad that he is choosing these lesser known and more indie style films. He is fantastic as Loki in the Marvel Universe but he hasn't allowed Hollywood to absorb him into blockbuster after blockbuster. His performance here, is perfectly adequate. There was never a moment where he quite reached the same standard as Swinton but he held his own. The main problem that I faced with his character was how one-note it was. That resulted in quite a restricted performance not allowing much variety from Hiddlestone. John Hurt and Mia Wasikowska give very good performances yet I had one main problem with each of them. Hurt played the role he always seems to be in current films; a wise and dying elderly figure of great importance. He was this style of character in Snowpiercer and he is again, now. We know that Hurt has range as an actor but I simply wish that we can be shown this once again. Wasikowska brought a breath of excitement into what is ultimately, quite a depressing film. However, I found her performance to contrast too heavily to the overall tone making for her character to not quite fit in.

As well as Swinton's splendid acting capabilities on showcase, another highlight of Only Lovers Left Alive is the writing, more specifically, the dialogue. The greatest compliment that I can give the writer (Jarmusch) is how real and authentic each scene felt. Every character never felt like a cliché nor possessed the most unrealistic qualities. In fact, they felt more human than many characters in movies released today do, which is a testament to Jarmusch's skill because they aren't exactly human. Pacing was also something that surprised me. With a two hour runtime, it suited that length. Looking back upon the film, I cannot find moments which could have been removed. That being said, this film is slow. Sometimes I found the gradual pace good for the development of the story as it allowed us as an audience, to become more fully invested into these characters. But, at certain times, I thought it to be unnecessarily slow. And that is where my main issue with this film becomes apparent. Whilst Jarmusch wrote a great script, I think the direction that he controlled was not to my liking. Now, it has to be said, this is a well made film. But the style in which this film is presented is not something that I wholly enjoy. I simply cannot deny the skill of filmmaking present here, but I don't really see the point of watching Tilda Swinton walk along an alleyway for a minute in slow motion and then cut away before she gets anywhere. What exactly does that add to her character or the story? Of course, it could be read into and analysed, but for me, I aim for movies to be enjoyable or at least memorable. Unfortunately, this did not have the intended impact upon me.

The depiction of vampires was my favourite aspect of this film. Through the writing and acting, we are presented with vampires that fit into the modern world. There was never a sequence in which they didn't feel real but their obsession with blood was fantastic. Blood is presented as a drug in this film and I found that to be such an original and clever concept to implement. It makes for a uniqueness to fall over the film and results in a fresh take on the genre. Music is very distinctive within the film. At times, I found it to encompass how certain characters were feeling which is what a score should hope to achieve. Alas, at certain events during the feature, the music distracted me from the on-screen dialogue making for a discomforting watch.

This is for sure, a competently well made motion picture. There is no denying that. The acting is good across the board and, thanks to the writing, a fresh and new take on vampires is presented. But, there were too many moments during Only Lovers Left Alive where I became uninterested or bored. I completely understand why some may think this is a magnificent work of art, but for me, I found it to be average at best.

My Verdict: 5/10

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