Jim Jarmusch directs the story of a vampire suffering from depression whose wife returns to help alleviate his malaise.
Set in modern day Detroit, Only Lovers Left Alive is the tale of Adam. From contemplating suicide, and reuniting with his wife Eve, to dealing with his troublesome sister in law, this film addresses not just physical immortality but living forever through art.
Tom Hiddleston as Adam shows there’s more to him than ripping up the screen as Loki in the Thor movies. Over two thousand years old Adam has grown tired of the world, but Hiddleston is never tiresome to watch.
The pale and ghostly Eve, played beautifully by Tilda Swinton, is warm, tender and, considering she has lived for three millenniums, is amazingly patient of her brooding husband.
John Hurt plays Shakespeare’s contemporary Christopher Marlowe, who it turns out faked his death and allowed ‘That illiterate zombie!’ to claim his work as his own. Mia Wasikowska brings a burst of energy to events as Ava, who as a young vampire at just 300 years old is brash and reckless.
The film is a character study rather a narrative story and is laced with dualities. The fact vampires suck the life out of people is countered by their ability to create new life through their art. The characters are at odds with the world, but not with each other. Adam looks to be the epitome of a bourgeois artisan but has in fact withdrawn from the world entirely. Eve appears to be drained of energy and colour but embraces life through culture and technology.
Though not a traditional vampire story the film isn’t afraid to show the vampire clichés, with fangs revealed during blood drinking sessions, which are akin to the drug taking in Trainspotting. Not just that, the film is brave enough to add to vampire lore with the addition of gloves. Similar to the ‘a vampire must be invited in’ rule now ‘a vampire must be invited to remove their gloves’. The reason – vampires are able to sense the age and history of everything they touch. So touching personal objects in an individual’s home is a very intimate act.
The film also has a subtle sense of humour, with the vampires routinely name dropping the famous artists and composers they have helped throughout the centuries and constantly referring to humans as ‘Zombies’. Married couples who are on ‘breaks’ takes on a whole new meaning when it is revealed that the happily married Adam and Eve haven’t actually seen each other for 87 years.
More in common with Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In, the film moves along at a leisurely rate, which at times may be a little self indulgent. Considering the two main protagonists are three thousand years old who live at night the pacing does fairly reflect the lives of these vampires.
Lesser actors would struggle to make the most of the lean material at their disposal but Hiddleston and Swinton’s performances bring depth to characters in a film which is quietly overflowing with ideas.
Adam and Eve may not live forever, but they will live forever through their art.
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