A story centered on two vampires who have been in love for centuries.
Jim Jarmusch has made a career out of subverting the norms of genre filmmaking – indeed, his work is a genre unto itself. After the divisive The Limits of Control, his latest film (which is best described as an anti-vampire vampire film) signals a thoroughly enjoyable return to form.
Hiddleston and Swinton are lovely to watch, but they need more to chew on than this.
Only Lovers Left Alive occasionally threatens to be a little too cool for its own good, but at least the characters’ undead status makes their name-dropping more interesting than most: “Byron – what a bore.”
Haunting and idiosyncratic, Jarmusch’s vampire marriage preaches to the converted, but he’s in fine voice nonetheless.
A loving, very funny valentine to undead pleasures, with Swinton and Hiddleston on top form.
The damned have never looked so beautiful.
Bound to appeal to the more discerning, literary-minded strain of young goth, Only Lovers is a droll, classy piece of cinematic dandyism that makes the Twilight cycle redundant in one exquisitely languid stroke.
Interspersed with literary name-dropping, vinyl fetishism and the occasional blood-thirsty feeding frenzy, it all adds up to a droll restatement of intent for Jarmusch, one that’s cool in places, too studied and stilted in others, but hard for fans to argue with.
Hiddleston and Swinton excel as the very refined bloodsuckers, conveying a sense of world-weariness and disillusionment about the behaviour of the "zombie" humans without ever becoming remotely wearisome themselves.
Hilarious, bittersweet, nostalgic and philosophical. One of this amazing director’s finest achievements.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Friday March 7, 2014, until Thursday March 13, 2014. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Friday March 7, 2014, until Thursday March 13, 2014. More info: www.dca.org.uk
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