Centuries old vampires exist in the modern world. And that's it, that's the plot. The fascinating Tilda Swinton (Eve) looks exotic in a number of baroque outfits, Tim Hiddleston (Adam) plays a typically soft spoken goth, and John Hurt is the supplier who brings them superior blood – 'the good stuff' – for a special treat. The acting is terrific and very natural, convincingly portraying what life would be like if they really did live forever.
The look of the film is rich and lavish. Writer and director Jim Jarmusch is clearly in love with the concept. Very much like the earlier, rather more succinct, 'Kiss of the Damned (2013)', the sedate pacing and uneventful lifestyle is interrupted by the arrival of the heroine's unruly and precocious younger sister, Ava (Mia Wasikowska).
After watching Adam and Eve doing things really slowly, it is to be hoped that Ava's inclusion would be something of a shot in the arm. Not to dispel their night-time sanctuary, but just to provide something. After all, about the most eventful occurrence up until this point is when the electricity cuts during another airing of their surprisingly non-goth music. For her duration, Ava's presence does exactly as it should – shakes the two old vampires up and disrupts the complacency that has marred the film up to this point.
My favourite character is probably Ian, the wheeler-dealer type. He's a shadowy, shady 'zombie' (Adam's contemptuous name for humans) and is enthralled by the rock and roll lifestyle these real 'life' goths adhere to. It is his demise at the hands of Ava that propels the couple, first to rid themselves of her (and therefore the interest she brings) and then to travel to Tangiers, where Eve was residing during the film's opening.
There's no doubt for me that Ava's appearance makes things more interesting, but also has the effect of making me appreciate more the earlier, tranquil non-eventfulness of the story, and Adam and Eve's understandable need for a return to that anonymity. Their story has quietly become compelling.
I rarely quote other reviews, preferring my opinions to emerge uninfluenced, but my favourite critique of 'Only Lovers Left Alive' is from Jessica Kiang of 'IndieWire', who gave the film a B+ grade, saying, "the real pleasure of the film is in its languid droll cool and its romantic portrayal of the central couple, who are now our number one role models in the inevitable event of us turning vampiric."
The look of the film is rich and lavish. Writer and director Jim Jarmusch is clearly in love with the concept. Very much like the earlier, rather more succinct, 'Kiss of the Damned (2013)', the sedate pacing and uneventful lifestyle is interrupted by the arrival of the heroine's unruly and precocious younger sister, Ava (Mia Wasikowska).
After watching Adam and Eve doing things really slowly, it is to be hoped that Ava's inclusion would be something of a shot in the arm. Not to dispel their night-time sanctuary, but just to provide something. After all, about the most eventful occurrence up until this point is when the electricity cuts during another airing of their surprisingly non-goth music. For her duration, Ava's presence does exactly as it should – shakes the two old vampires up and disrupts the complacency that has marred the film up to this point.
My favourite character is probably Ian, the wheeler-dealer type. He's a shadowy, shady 'zombie' (Adam's contemptuous name for humans) and is enthralled by the rock and roll lifestyle these real 'life' goths adhere to. It is his demise at the hands of Ava that propels the couple, first to rid themselves of her (and therefore the interest she brings) and then to travel to Tangiers, where Eve was residing during the film's opening.
There's no doubt for me that Ava's appearance makes things more interesting, but also has the effect of making me appreciate more the earlier, tranquil non-eventfulness of the story, and Adam and Eve's understandable need for a return to that anonymity. Their story has quietly become compelling.
I rarely quote other reviews, preferring my opinions to emerge uninfluenced, but my favourite critique of 'Only Lovers Left Alive' is from Jessica Kiang of 'IndieWire', who gave the film a B+ grade, saying, "the real pleasure of the film is in its languid droll cool and its romantic portrayal of the central couple, who are now our number one role models in the inevitable event of us turning vampiric."