A good ol' glass of
Absinth, curtains shut, a quiet dark music – and you're all set to
go to sleep. This is a good summary of Jim Jarmusch's Only
Lovers Left Alive, a slow
vampire movie starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston. Although it
does have some laudable aspects – thankfully – still, it is not
lying saying that it does not leave you with a feeling of
satisfaction.
At the beginning, we get
to know gradually that Adam and Eve are a married couple of two
vampires, him being an anonymous underground musician. As any
self-respecting vampire, they're a thousand years old. Throughout the
movie we see them keep a secret life, relate about old times, procure
pure blood to survive without killing, and deal with family
issues, all amidst old furniture and dark settings.
The soundtrack of the
movie was indeed excellent, showing well the characters' state of
continuous inner conflict; and the casting was very well done, the
leading actors being indeed perfect for this old-fashion English
vampire style. But as for the rest, the scenario was very flat and
the pace was way too long: a good thirty minutes could have been cut
so as to make it less... sleepy.
These shaggy-haired
vampires (it is apparently a style inherent to their race), having
lived a zillion years, happen also to have known personally every
great name of any era, from Franz Schubert to Mary Wollstonecraft and
others. They are even the source of the work of most of the greatest
artists, when they are not the greatest names themselves – one
vampire friend of the couple's being both Christopher Marlowe and
Shakespeare (interpreted by great John Hurt).
Another irritating
aspect – although interesting in itself, but handled badly in the
scenario – is the way in which they show their deep and ancient
knowledge of everything. Anecdotes they tell to each other involving
the Inquisition or the plague are amusing, but their obsession of
naming things by their Latin names just feels made up – especially
when Eve (Tilda Swinton) keeps on addressing animals or plants by
their Latin name. Dare I ask who on Earth, however centuries-old they
may be, names everything they see?
But maybe being a vampire is a synonym for “being high all the
time”. After all, how should I know, I'm only a mortal.
But after all this, here
is maybe the highest critique I have to make about this movie:
although it is long, although it lacks of a more exciting scenario,
it could still have brought out something, like a serious reflexion
on life for instance. But apart from some superficial comments here
and there about water's extinction and how Man can be stupid at times
– nothing new under the sun – it does not show us
this critical part, and does not stir anything in us.
Thus
this movie just comes down to a small bunch of withdrawn vampires
right out from one of the Kooples' ads, surviving in our century and
basically dealing with everyday (or more accurately everynight) life.
All of this in slow motion. For sure, for those out there who don't
like the rush of modern life and don't like movies with interesting
stories to tell, this movie will be a breath of fresh air. On the
contrary, for the others: don't hold your breath, because it lasts a
while.
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