"Artistic, sophisticated and centuries old, two vampire lovers...ponder their ultimate place in modern society."
I Say...
I mean, #same.
Horror Type...
Vampires, Horror Comedy, Dark Fantasy
Main Players...
Tilda Swinton as Eve (Not That Eve)
Tom Hiddleston as Adam (Not That Adam)
Mia Wasikowska as Ava (Enfant Terrible)
I liked...
- some of the deeply profound thoughts expressed by the vamps, like suicidal Adam's poignant, "I needed a reflection, to see if it would echo back before..." Here, "reflection" is not the kind one seeks from a mirror, and the "before" implies his anticipated demise. Gave me chills, bc don't we all, on some level, seek to have something of ourselves reflected back from the world, to know we've made our mark, to know we'll be remembered?
- Eve and Adam's relationship. They're so easy with one another, as folks who've known one another intimately for so long should be. They visibly cherish one another's company (the way they smoldered at one another when first reunited after a lengthy separation, W00F) and really appreciate the simple things they can do together, like play chess and dance in their living room. So lovely. 💜
- Adam's relationship with his blood "dealer"--some fun moments in their interactions
- how each vamp we meet has an innate, distinct skill
- Adam's/Hiddleston's dreamy voice (though his hair's a fright)
- the groovy soundtrack, which featured one of my faves:
The Meh...
- For a horror comedy, it was light on both horror and comedy.
- Plot? We don't need no stinking plot, bc...
- ...this film busies itself packing in allusion after allusion instead. That can be fun, but here I found it masturbatory and shallow (shallow, bc none of it advances the story, nor does it reveal character, as far as I could tell). I mean, I just don't reckon sophisticated vampires who've been married to one another for centuries need to name drop so much with one another. All the references come off, to me, like the droopy winks your soused uncle aims at you over the Thanksgiving turkey after he's told That Joke (yes, again).
- All the unanswered questions (why were Eve and Adam living apart, anyway? What's with the glove wearing? Why do all the vamps have such bad hair???)
Would I recommend it...?
It's a gorgeous mood piece with great music but as a horror movie, it's an anemic navel-gazer with no bite. (Puns fully intended.) Only at the very end, when Eve and Adam are desperate, do they frighten even a little bit. Those of sensitive dispositions are perfectly safe with this film. For a vampire love story with some actual scares, I'd recommend Let the Right One In or Let Me In. For a vampy love story with laughs, for my money you can't beat Love at First Bite.
Miscellany...
This is another Jim Jarmusch movie, the second one I've ever seen. The first, The Dead Don't Die, I reviewed earlier this month and I honestly can't understand how so many folks panned it but fawn all over Only Lovers Left Alive. Whatever, wank-boys'n'girls--up is down, day is night, vanilla is chocolate. You're all nuts. N.V.T.S. nuts.
Ratings...
My Grade: B as an art piece & vampire love story/C as a horror comedy
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: Tomatometer=85%, Audience Score=75%
Details, Schmeetails...
You can watch Only Lovers Left Alive on Amazon (among other places offering Starz)
Learn more about it on Wikipedia (Contains Spoilers)
This concludes Day 26 of
Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow...
IF YOU DARE
