Art House Vampires: Only Lovers Left Alive

The Good: Good acting, Wonderful mood, Interesting characters
The Bad: Somewhat plodding and plotless
The Basics: Intensely smart as a slice-of-life, “man vs. society” mood piece, Only Lovers Left Alive is an adult vampire film showcasing the struggles of the modern, moody, immortals.


I am absolutely fascinated by the process by which films are created and distributed, especially in the United States. While there is an occasional breakout foreign film in the U.S., like Let The Right One In (reviewed here!) a few years ago, it seems to be a real fluke and American cinema seems to be one of the more successful remaining exports. But there is a life to filmmaking and the cinema world outside the United States that makes it very difficult to make a foreign film into anything other than an art house film in the U.S. With Only Lovers Left Alive, director Jim Jarmusch seems to be trying to stack the deck for success and it will be interesting to see if his latest film is able to break out of the shadow of the art house to capitalize on the elements he is using.

The director of Dead Man (reviewed here in a review where I can only assume the film garnered such a high rating because of my affinity for Lance Henriksen) returns with Only Lovers Left Alive and it seems like he might be trying to develop a blockbuster. Only Lovers Left Alive is a vampire story and, despite the failure of Vampire Academy at the box office, vampires are still pretty hot. Art house favorite Tilda Swinton is second-billed (she may be “c list” in the mainstream United States and an art house favorite here, but she’s a-list in Europe and most of the rest of the world) and the cast is loaded with rising stars loved in the U.S.: Tom Hiddleston, Anton Yelchin, and Mia Wasikowska. To its credit, Only Lovers Left Alive stands well on its own and deserves some mainstream attention, even if it does not rely upon action or graphic violence to create an intriguing vampire story. Indeed, with Only Lovers Left Alive, Jim Jarmusch has written and directed the logical, adult successor to The Twilight Saga (reviewed here!).

Opening in Detroit at night, the reclusive musician Adam is visited by Ian, who supplies him with guitars. Adam makes an odd request of Ian; he wants a single wooden bullet made of hardwood, like ironwood. After paying Ian off, Adam goes to a nearby hospital disguised as a doctor where he buys blood from a skittish doctor doing research. In Tangier, Eve buys blood from none other than Christopher Marlowe and as Marlowe, Eve, and Adam return to their separate homes to consume blood, they are revealed to be immortal vampires. Eve contacts Adam and is taken by his ennui enough that she resolves to come visit him, despite how much she hates traveling long distances. Reunited at Adam’s run-down studio/home, the ancient lovers reconnect. At night, Adam takes Eve out and shows her historical sites and they listen to his new music, play games, and reminisce about historical figures they met over the eons. Eve discovers Adam’s wooden bullet and expresses her concern about his moodiness. Adam reveals to Eve that he has dreamed of Eve’s sister and Eve mentions that she and Marlow had similar dreams.

Sure enough, one night, Adam and Eve return home to find Ava in the house, listening to Adam’s music. She is impulsive, comparatively young, and continually hungry. When the trio goes out with Ian to a local club, Adam is annoyed by how Ava risks everything by bringing a flask of blood with her and spends the night teasing Ian. When Eve wakes up to discover Ava has exsanguinated Ian, Adam and Eve send Ava packing back to Los Angeles. After disposing of the body, Adam and Eve flee the United States for Tangier where they struggle emotionally with Marlowe’s final moments and physically with a deficiency of blood.

Only Lovers Left Alive is a vampire romance that illustrates the practical problems of being a vampire in the modern world. Jim Jarmusch smartly refuses to populate the film with many vampires and keeps the concept grounded very much in the real world. Adam and Eve do not have a tumultuous relationship; theirs is a strong, mature love. So, details like Adam getting irked by how Eve plays chess and beats him, but him not having an outburst when he loses plays very well for the characters. Similarly, Only Lovers Left Alive takes the reasonable position that vampires would not simply vamp anyone; in order to maintain their secret, they do not convert others, they expend a lot of energy maintaining their anonymity.

While often charmless (it is with a stark sense of realism that Jarmusch creates a vampire film), Only Lovers Left Alive is not without its moments. While Adam is sullen and artistically pretentious, Eve has a spark of life to her. Played with a subtle energy by Tilda Swinton, Eve brings the film’s moments of irony to the forefront, like when she is arranging passage out of the U.S. and has to give the birthdays of their aliases. Otherwise, there is quite a bit of philosophy, history, and mood to Only Lovers Left Alive, but very little actually happens.

What feels fresh about Only Lovers Left Alive is how there is no antagonist, no secret society, no culture, and really no menace from the vampires in the film. Eve has the ability to determine the age of any living thing with her touch and the fangs are only shown out (not ever in the process of mystically replacing the normal canines) and there is a little bit of superspeed shown in Only Lovers Left Alive. Jarmusch also smartly makes the vampires susceptible to the blood diseases of humans. Eve and Adam are patient, mature and seasoned, contrasted with Ava’s reckless impulsiveness. Basically, the film is about a couple that reunites and has to go on the run . . . but they don’t run and no one is chasing them.

What makes the film worth watching is that the performers rise to the occasion of doing little other than embodying timeless characters. Tilda Swinton manages to pull off being reserved without even a hint of menace, like from her White Witch in The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe (reviewed here!). Tom Hiddleston is able to play Adam without a hint of the charm that has made him an international star. Hiddleston plays the archetypal moody artist incredibly well. Hiddleston and Swinton have decent on-screen chemistry.

Only Lovers Left Alive is an interesting mood piece. Jim Jarmusch wrote and directed a film that does what it sets out to do well, but it’s not the most incredible premise or execution of that unremarkable premise. Much more of a relationship drama than a vampire film, Only Lovers Left Alive is a moody, emotionally-driven man vs. society film that is worth seeing once, if not adding to one’s permanent collection.

For other works with Mia Wasikowska, please check out my reviews of:
The Double
Alice In Wonderland
The Kids Are All Right
Amelia
Defiance

7/10

For other film reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Dead Man: Where Have You Gone William Blake?

The Good: Well-shot, Acting, Moments, Soundtrack
The Bad: Characters, Purpose, Back of the DVD says more than the film
The Basics: Slow, ponderous and pointless, Dead Man is a well-shot film that lacks a real story and direction.


As frequent readers of my reviews will note, I have to be in a mood for black and white films or else I will be instantly prejudiced against it. Not so much with older films, but certainly with films released these days. Black and white is a medium that can be artful, but often is pretentious. This morning, I was in the mood for black and white, so I sat down to Dead Man. The short verdict: I'm not adding it to my permanent collection, though I did not hate the movie.

Dead Man tells the story of William Blake, a man on the run in the Old West. As far as that goes, this is probably the slowest chase film ever produced. Blake goes through an excruciatingly long journey from Cleveland to the West (much of which we see - the first five minutes of the film are comprised of Blake on the train sitting and going in and out of consciousness and boredom on his trip to the West) where he finds the job he was relocating for has been given to another person. So, he goes to bed with a local woman, wakes up to find her ex-lover entering the room, a gunfight ensues and Blake, wounded, leaves town on another man's horse. This leads him to Nobody, a native who heals him. It also sets bounty hunters on his tracks and they are led by Cole, a murderous, ruthless man with no morals. Nobody leads Blake with the goal of returning him to the dead (mistaking this Blake for the classic poet William Blake) while Cole hunts relentlessly with the goal to kill Blake.

The back of the DVD says that the film is about Nobody teaching Blake to face the dangers of being a pursued man, but the film never does that. In fact, the purpose of Dead Man is more than a little lacking. The characters are ill-defined or uninteresting. Blake's acceptance of Nobody in his life is unquestioned, Nobody's reasons for aiding Blake are likewise unexplored. In fact, the only character that makes real sense in the flick is Cole. He's a bloodthirsty (literally) psychopath and he remains true to that throughout.

Unfortunately, that also ruins the surprises that accompany traveling with Cole. That his counterparts meet fates undesirable is unsurprising given his characterization.

What is not lacking is the acting. Despite exceptional flaws in plot and character, Johnny Depp gives an excellent performance as Blake. It's a shame the best dialog he's given comes so close to the end. Lance Henriksen plays Cole with brutal, wonderful efficiency. Robert Mitchum's appearances in the film are too brief. The real kudos, however, goes to Gary Farmer, who plays Nobody. Nobody is easy to watch as a result and that makes a huge difference in the film. Had it not been for his performance, the film would have been sunk entirely.

As it is, the film remains barely afloat. The soundtrack is entirely guitar music and that works well. The film certainly has atmosphere. Alas, the atmosphere is "slow" and "dead." This does not inspire one to watch it more than once as the mood is somewhat oppressive in points.

On DVD, the presentation is improved some with deletes scenes (though some of them deserved to be cut), a music video and the film's trailer. This adds only a little added value to the film and I found myself wishing there had been a commentary track.

I suppose Dead Man could simply be a tale of one man's morally ambiguous quest into death, but if that's it, the story is only confused by the whole Cole plot. Whatever the film was, it wasn't thoroughly unpleasant to watch, but I'll never sit through it again. I would recommend this one only when you've exhausted everything else in your library.

For other films featuring Johnny Depp, please visit my reviews of:
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The Tourist
Alice In Wonderland
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Corpse Bride
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
Edward Scissorhands

4.5/10

For other film reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007, 2002 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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