Byzantium (2013)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Too much of everything

one of my absolute favorites!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This is a work of art in many ways and I regret not seeing it sooner simply because "I don't do vampire movies." This is not your usual vampire movie. If you like art cinema, try this.

Since seeing his Neo-Noir work get praised on IMDb's Film Noir board,and also catching clips of 1999's The End of the Affair,I've been meaning to take a look at director Neil Jordan's work,but have for some reason have never found the perfect moment.Joining an event being held on IMDb's Film Festival page,I was delighted to find that one of the titles chosen for the event was Jordan's latest title,which led to me getting ready to visit Byzantium.The plot:Angering a vampire group called the Brethren,mum and daughter vampires Eleanor & Clara Webb attempt to avoid the Brethren by staying hidden in the shadows.Feeling agitated over Clara's demands to keep her vampire life secret,Eleanor begins writing and telling people about her "past life",which leads to Clara's having to kill the humans who find out their secrets.Getting sacked from her job as a stripper,Clara becomes a prostitute.Showing some empathy towards a client called Noel.Clara uses her vampire seduction skills to get Noel to let her and Eleanor stay in a hotel that his mum ran called Byzantium.Arriving at the hotel,Clara starts to turn the hotel into a brothel,as Eleanor starts to step out of her mums blood-drenched shadow.View on the film:Left sitting on the shelf for 2 years after filming,director Neil Jordan & cinematographer Sean Bobbitt stop the movie from appearing dusty by wrapping it in stylised brooding elegance. Transferring each line in Eleanor's "life story" onto the screen,Jordan and Bobbitt dip the film into silk Gothic Melodrama,with the flashbacks spanning the beautiful high seas and mountains on Ireland,which are joined by an earthy, bruised crimson which unveils the pain and torment that Clara suffered during her vampire "birth." Getting between Clara & Eleanor for the "present",Jordan brilliantly uses eye-catching tracking shots to subtly display the gap developing between the Clara and Eleanor. Bringing Clara onto the screen with a fantastic strip club dance,Jordan unleashes bubbling Gothic Horror claret across the screen,as the memory of a "river of blood" is revived by Clara trying to keep Eleanor's fangs hidden away in the neon-lit outskirts.Adapting his own play,the screenplay by Moira Buffini gives Clara and Eleanor to distinctive set of fangs,with Clara's long fangs of history allowing Buffini to bite into black comedy with a bloody relish,whilst Eleanor's young fang desire to be a free from her family history allows Buffini to cast a sweeping Gothic romance across the title. Throwing some unlucky humans to the girls,Buffini pulls up the Gothic Horror veins by giving the troubled mother/daughter relationship between Eleanor & Clara a tense,fragile atmosphere,as Eleanor tries to enter adulthood whilst also fighting with Clara over how a vampire should be.Looking stunning in her stripper entrance, Gemma Arterton gives an excellent performance as Clara,with Arterton dressing Clara in Punk leather,whose deadly off-the-cuff remarks are a taster to Clara's deep red fangs. Attempting to rebel against her own rebellious mother,the elegant Saoirse Ronan impressively keeps Eleanor away from appearing sappy,thanks to Ronan giving Eleanor a firm, determined bite,as Clara and Eleanor enter Byantium.

I came across this movie on Netflix streaming, it caught my attention for Saoirse Ronan who is such an accomplished young actress. The Vampire genre isn't very high on my list but I went into this one with an open mind. I was rewarded handsomely. The story spanning a bit more than 200 years from 1804 to present day is in itself interesting and well-told. The story-telling approach is to let us know early what is going on in present day, and that these characters are over 200 years old and must live on fresh blood. But the complete story of how all this came to be is unfolded only very gradually until at the end we know everything we need to know.But to me the best part of the movie are the cinematography, the musical score, and the many expertly done scenes throughout the movie. Each one of them is a work of art and when it is all said and done a very gripping movie.Saoirse Ronan stars as Eleanor and she carries the movie well. Her constant companion is Gemma Arterton as Clara. Early on something happens that causes them to leave town in a hurry and end up in a seaside village in England. (Filming was done in both England and Ireland). Eleanor and Clara are opposites of sorts, while Clara shamelessly seduces men and brings them to a secluded location to take them, Eleanor has a more gentle approach and only takes those who are otherwise ready to depart this life.The third character I will mention is young Texan Caleb Landry Jones as Frank, a boy with Leukemia who befriends Eleanor. The young man has an unusual look about him that fits very well with the overall story and his acting in this role is super.SPOILERS: Clara is actually Eleanor's mother, impregnated when as a teen was forced into prostitution. She was supposed to kill the newborn but couldn't bring herself to do it and sneaked the baby to a religious orphanage, her note requesting that the baby be told her mother was dead. All that happened in 1804, and in ensuing years both got with a Vampire clan that resulted in their being turned, and they forever were to appear the age that happened. In the end Eleanor helped Frank on the remote island and her voice-over is, "I am Eleanor Webb. I throw my story to the wind and never will I tell it more. Another one begins. "

An Irish vampire movie, thus back to where the vampires were originated. There are no good vampire movies these days, all those are teen target products which are simply a fantasy flick. In the old days, its horror and terrifying ugly giant beasts, the werewolves were, but in the todays movies they are adorable giant wolves. It's either vampire movie or werewolf, the result is same. 'Twilight' or 'Vampire Academy' and others, just not my type, though watch them for entertainment and to keep up-to-date.The reason I watched it is for Saoirse Ronan, because I like her. But Gemma Arterton has been so good like always. To me this is what called a vampire movie. Of course, themes should vary from a movie to another, that does not mean one can completely abandon the basic theory. Neo-Gothic is one of that, the present filmmakers forgets, because that kind of set-up gives Dracula effect. This film has been just like everything I wanted, so I enjoyed every bit.It is always great to see a movie that portrays the world over the span of 100 or more years. As usual survival and hiding the identity is the main intention for the concept. But from who (other than humans) and why is the suspense that reveals formally at the right time. If you like 'We're the Nights', then this is the right one to pick. But not great as 'Interview with the Vampire' was, in fact, it was directed by the same director.7.5/10