Preston Barta // Film Critic
“Only Lovers Left Alive,” 123 min.
Rated R for language and brief nudity.
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Stars: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright and John Hurt
Rating: 3/5
I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, here’s another vampire love story.” Sure, while that may be, Jim Jarmusch’s “Only Lovers Left Alive” is far cry from the annoying tennybopper’s franchise we’ve grown accustomed to. Thankfully, this film is not based on a young adult book series. It has a visionary director at the helm and commanding actors who can actually hold there own.
Tilda Swinton (“Michael Clayton”) and Tom Hiddleston (“The Avengers”) lead the cast as a pair of eternal lovers named, well, Adam and Eve. When Adam, a depressed musician displeased by his growing fanbase (how hipster of you), starts to have suicidal thoughts, his vampiric lover, Eve, meets him in Detroit to remind him why living an undead life is still worth living.
This is a film for arthouse film lovers and pop culture enthusiasts. If you’re looking for a gory horror flick, you won’t find that here with “Only Lovers Left Alive,” as it is an uneventful (yeah, not much happens) vampire film that takes advantage of its two-hour run-time (they even show characters walking in slow-motion). It’s a quiet, slow study of immortality and its effects.
If you’re one to enjoy films like this – an artsy film with great performances, camera-work and music – then by all means, see this film. But if you’re looking for something that entertains, as we head into the blockbuster season, sink your teeth in something else.
“Only Lovers Left Alive” opens today.
