Only Lovers Left Alive

This has been heralded as a return to form for Jarmusch but, frankly, I liked his last two films a lot better. The big problem here is that there is absolutely nothing left to say about Vampires. Jarmusch just uses the genre to create a gorgeous mood piece, but it's hard to deny the fact that we've seen it all before. Really, the plot here is almost identical to Xan Cassavetes' 2012 film Kiss of the Damned. Much like that film, Only Lovers Left Alive tries to spice of the genre with artiness, and it succeeds (as did Kiss of the Damned) up to a point. Really, Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are so engaging the film comes off pretty good. Swinton's awesome hairdo alone makes the film worth watching. I am a little perturbed that Jarmusch glamorizes heroin chic in this film - the vampires are very rock-star like and, when they drink blood, it's depicted very much like heroin use. And it's depicted quite romantically. Tom Hiddleston's music even sounds like The Velvet Underground (I found it hilarious when characters tell him how brilliant his work is). The film co-stars John Hurt, Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska and Jeffrey Wright. Wright's scenes with Hiddleston are by far the highlight of the film.

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE pulls no punches with its audience; it expects us to take note of the literary references peppering the script, to figures old and new, making us away of the transhistoricity of the love-affair between Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton). In a world becoming increasingly disheveled and uninhabitable - the shots of a desolate Detroit are especially affecting - their love remains the only constant. However director Jim Jarmusch suggests that they need an outside transfusion of perfect blood to keep their affair going, something that can only be provided through a few sources, notably through Christopher Marlowe (John Hurt), who lives in a dark, dingy café in Tangier (another place deliberately chosen by director Jarmusch as the symbol of a place where trade and/or exchange has historically always occurred). When the blood runs out, so Adam and Eve have to resort to more direct methods of sustaining themselves. The ambiances evoked through this film are memorable; the zombie culture populated by Adam and Ava (Mia Wasikowska), the labyrinthine streets of Tangier, where sellers on every corner offer "something special" - which is not special enough for Adam and Eve. Within this ambiance the love-story is strangely haunting: we care for the two protagonists and their future, even though we are aware that their affair has continues for centuries. The film doesn't necessarily offer an optimistic conclusion, but at least it suggests that Adam and Eve will continue stay alive, at whatever cost.

In the abandoned Detroit, the depressed musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston) lives in an old house in the middle of derelict buildings with his musical instruments and books. Adam has been a vampire for centuries but is tired with the fate of the world taken by wrong decisions of mankind. He has a confidentiality agreement with Ian (Anton Yelchin) that provides rare instruments to him and does not ask questions to him. Adam poses of Dr. Faust and buys blood bags from Dr. Watson (Jeffrey Wright) in a nearby hospital. His wife and lover Eve (Tilda Swinton) lives in Tangier, Morocco's, and is also a vampire. Her best friend is "Kit" Marlowe (John Hurt) that supplies blood for her that he buys from a French doctor.

When Eve calls Adam from Tangier, she feels that he is down and she decides to fly to Detroit to meet him. She meets Kit to say good-bye to him and Kit tells Eve that he had a dream with her younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska). Eve and Adam reunite and spend the nights making love. Out of the blue, the wild and reckless Ava comes to Adam's house and turns their lives upside-down.

"Only Lovers Left Alive" is a stylish and original vampire movie with a story of eternal love and music. The plot has no clichés and is developed in slow pace, with charismatic characters, great performances and entertaining dialogs. I dare to say that "Only Lovers Left Alive" is in 2014 what "The Hunger" was in 1983. Fans of gore or conventional vampire movies will probably not like this feature. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Amantes Eternos" ("Eternl Lovers")

Note: On 23 Oct 2018 I saw this film again.

In a world of vampires, Adam (Tom Hiddleston) is a reclusive musician with a helper Ian (Anton Yelchin). Eve (Tilda Swinton) finds old friend Christopher Marlowe (John Hurt). Eve reconnects with Adam. They are both evolved beyond their bloodlust. They roam the deserted streets of Detroit. However they are interrupted by her wild little sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).

It's an interesting take on the vampires. It's certainly a nice break from all the young adult vampire fares. It's got Jim Jarmusch's style of a slow deliberate indie. Tilda makes a great vampire. Tom Hiddleston fits quite nicely with Tilda. This is not a big studio churning out another vampire movie. It's moody. It has a few funny touches. It's outside the box. Mia doesn't come in until after halfway through the movie. The first half has this dreamy ethereal quality about it. I'm not sure Mia is good at playing the wild child. She is very much playing a spoiled child but she needs to be more dangerous. The movie needs to see her violence. Maybe Jarmusch thinks that actual violence would conflict with the tone of the movie. I just felt that could have been better.

"You drank Ian!" Best line of the film, delivered by Eve (Tilda).

There should have been more of this light-hearted irony, especially from Tom Hiddleston who takes his part (Adam) a touch too seriously. Result: he comes across as lugubrious. And he plays on a note of such desperate ennui that Tilda comes across as positively incandescent by contrast. She's the mother of the family, the fixer, the one who gets people up in the evening. She's very watchable.

But points for John Hurt as Christopher Marlowe (it was me, you know, not that Shakespeare!). And for Mia W. playing every family's nightmare, the teenage girl who can't say no.

Given the fact it wasn't shot on film one can forgive the murkiness of the picture but I don't think Jim Jarmusch has much of an eye for setting up shots. There's not much flow. Some awkward cuts. And so on.

Lots of wealthy addicts cope with their addiction provided they have access to quality drugs - Jean Cocteau being a classic example. The plot here hinges on how that supply can be so easily blocked, the panic and despair that ensues and the inevitable descent into violence. Moralistic? Maybe.