Star Rating:

Only Lovers Left Alive

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Actors: Mia Wasikowska

Release Date: Monday 30th November -0001

Running time: Germany minutes

It's safe to say that Jim Jarmusch's filmography and directorial style isn't exactly for everybody. Where some see patient, others see patience-testing; where some see atmospheric, others see dull; where some see unique, others see purposefully distancing. But while we may not all agree on his works, when we're offered his interpretation on the vampire mythology, we're all bound to sit up and take notice.

Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play Adam and Eve (probably not THAT Adam and Eve, though), two married vampires who have been in love for centuries, and currently living apart. Adam is in Detroit, whiling away his days writing funeral rock music, buying rare guitars from his human friend Ian (Anton Yelchin), and contemplating suicide. Eve, meanwhile, is living a life of luxury in Tangiers with her old friend Marlowe (John Hurt), but sensing there is something wrong with her husband, travels to him in order to stir him out of his funk. From here they stay up nights discussing themselves, each other, love, friendship, music, art, literature, and everything else in between.

It is a fascinating viewpoint to take, for two creatures such as these to watch the passing of humanity and culture, predicting the peaks and troughs as times goes by. In fact, it is Adam's current inability to find a single human to stir inspiration in him that leads him to his suicidal thoughts. And while this might all sound tediously up its own arse, Jarmusch fills his screenplay with morbid humour, with barely five minutes passing by without a cutting line about Shakespeare or Mary Shelley or the fun that was The Crusades.

Hiddleston and Swinton are both perfect in their roles, possessing an ethereal mix of longing and depression about their own mortality. Jarmusch films them in a world that feels almost post-apocalyptic, with Detroit at night looking like the aftermath of a war-zone, and between some beautiful, dizzying cinematography and the sumptuous, hypnotic soundtrack, there is an awful lot to like here.

However, it won't be to everyone's tastes, as it does smack of primo-emo every now and again, and as per usual, Jarmusch is in no rush to tell his tale. But whether you're already sick to death of the glut of vampire movies recently or not, this unique take on the tale is definitely something to sink your fangs into.