“How can you have lived for so long and still not get it?” asked Eve to Adam (while it fits Edward Cullen best).
If someone intends to write a love letter to cultural arts one devotes much, but make a vampire instead; that someone will be the indie-hipster icon, Jim Jarmusch, in his latest film Only Lovers Left Alive.
Yes, it is a vampire film, but not that bleak. The vampires, having been living in this world for hundred years, suck the world’s finest art, literature, and mostly culture, instead of blood. Yes, they’re still thirst for blood, but they literally drink it with their finest grail. Those vampires love to make their live feels so much alive, although they’re obviously undead.
Adam (Tom Hiddlestone) is an underground “undead” musician who writes and records music in his house in Detroit. Meanwhile, Eve (Tilda Swinton) is an undead who loves to read literature, wear bath robe, and dance like sufism in Tangier, Morrocco. They’re lovers and they’re married to each other for centuries. When Adam needs her, Eve takes a night flight (of course) to Detroit, where she lives with her lover, doing things they like: most obviously, drinking O-negativo blood, or experimenting with it.
There’s no many things happen in Only Lovers Left Alive—to be honest, the plot is so narrow and never gets complicated. A small wavelet only comes when Ava (Mia Wasikowska) arrives from L.A. to reside in Adam’s house only to “drink” Ian (Anton Yelchin), Adam’s “zombie” (human, according to Adam) companion. Such thing doesn’t even escalate the plot in Jarmusch’s world. The plot, even the internal motivation, is not as intriguing as the details in design or dialogues.
The vampires in the film are bored and depressed of the world, but the film is never a boring one. With such plot, Jim Jarmusch exhibits many things he devotes for—references to classic culture and pop culture as well. Jarmusch humours the audiences with intimate pictures and seducing tone; as he maintains his own POV on this genre. Even during their desperate time, Jarmusch still displays the side of his characters which craves for culture, seen in Lebanese singer scene.
Only Lovers Left Alive is warm and witty; as it intimately stuffs the audiences with the beauty of art and literature that sustains the culture, as well as the film. However, Only Lovers Left Alive is mostly about Hiddlestone and Swinton’s perfect chemistry that drives the undead to life.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2014)
Drama Running Time: 123 mins. Directed and Written by: Jim Jarmusch Starred by: Tom Hiddlestone, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska, Jeffrey Wright
Leave a Reply