Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Einstein's theory of entanglement. In which paired particles are separated, and are still drawn to each other from opposite ends of the universe. Spooky.
I cannot tell you how long my parents have been trying to get me to watch a Jim Jarmusch film. I have a box set and everything, sitting on my shelf, that I simply have not had the time to watch. So you can imagine the irony when the secret film at the Little White Lies screening was his latest film, Only Lovers Left Alive. I had previously missed out on seeing this film at the BFI Film Festival, as it sold out in a flash and was really pleasantly surprised when this turned up at the screening last night. It has a small, yet strong cast including Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt an Mia Wasikowska. And I'm just going to say it now; I loved it.
The story was of Adam and Eve (ha), two inseparable vampires that seem to have been alive since the dawn of humanity. Adam (Hiddleston) is a dark, moody musician living on the outskirts of Detroit, while Eve (Swinton) is an ethereal traveler, living in the heart of Tangier. Eve is very much in love with the world, where Adam has become tired of it. There is a clear ying and yang with these characters, which once noticed, is fairly obvious, but still quite beautiful. (Even their clothes and makeup. Eve gave me serious hair envy though.) Their story is one of love and aging, and an outsider's perspective on modern day life. The pair saw humans as mindless zombies, with no emotional connection, just a judgement on humanity's impact on the world.
It was mesmerizing. The way it was shot and cut, the way it sounded, it was incredible. It was a perfect combination of stylish and ironic; the ironic part taking me a while to get my head around. It wasn't until the 'Dr Faust, Dr Watson' scene that I realised that Jarmusch was playing on old stereotypes, and the film suddenly became a lot more humerous. It was undeniably cool. I would have been happy with an entire film of Tilda Swinton meandering through the streets of Tangier. I feel like the opening sequence was some form of hypnosis, and it definitely seemed to work.
It doesn't look like much, but this film was excellent. It was everything I wanted from a vampire film. It could have been very tacky, but it wasn't. It was classy and fun. When this film does come out next year, I strongly urge you all to give it a go!
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