Review of Byzantium (2013) by Mark A — 10 Jun 2014

This was way out of my comfort zone as far as genre, but I had queued it as part of my quest to watch everything Gemma has done. I somehow missed that Saoirse was in this as well, and that turned out to be a bonus.

It was dark and moody, and a morality tale that confounded some of the usual conventions for a vampire story. I found there were some definite feminist themes at work here as well. There were several hooks to the story upon which to hang one's hat and dwell with these two, very different, women.

Clara (Gemma Arterton) was the elder, matriarchal figure, with a nasty streak. She was ruthless and seemed to take pleasure in satisfying her need. Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) was the more conflicted, sensitive soul who only harvested those who were ready to move on, and approached her task as a sacred duty.

The contrast was obvious. There was a love story, or two, a revenge thread, and an element of the chase. A very satisfying film on several levels.