Review of Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) by Thegodfatherson — 10 Apr 2014

Yes, Only Lovers Left Alive is another vampire movie. Yes, the characters are very pale and old and romantic. Yes, it is very much full of clichés and stereotypes. However, it is also wickedly smart, beautifully shot, filled to the brim with talent and full of cultural witticisms.

This is a movie for film lovers and pop culture enthusiasts. It is a vampire film that takes advantage of its time span; cultural references dating back hundreds of years can be found at every corner.

Only Lovers Left Alive does not focus on blood and gore, it is not a thriller nor a horror, it doesn't even truly focus on the world of vampires. Instead, Jarmusch studies the eternal, he explores the quiet, perhaps boring, every day life of a modern, intelligent and ancient being who has, quite literally, seen it all.