Review of Byzantium (2013) by Erno K — 05 Nov 2013

What an interesting movie. Strangely melancholic . It is easy to see why it only played in 13 theaters in the US, as this is not a commercial flick by any stretch of the imagination. I just realized that I am not filled with many thoughts about this one for some reason, so this will be a short review.

Sometimes it is good to watch these sorts of films as an antidote to action-heavy blockbusters. Prevents your brain turning into mush. Well, that depends on the film I guess. Like I alluded before, this is a pretty bleak movie. The atmosphere is constantly kinda depressing, and all the characters seem to live miserable lives. There will be blood though, so there is that.

I loved all the little visual nods that gave clues about the true nature of things. I have to be vague here so not to spoil anything, even though every description of this movie seems hell-bent on telling you exactly what is going on. Man, I hate this trend. No surprises anymore. I could probably write about the moral struggles and personal pains of the characters and shit, but I can't be bothered right now. They all suffer. That's it.

This is a decent film, but it never fully grabbed me, like all the good ones do. I simply watched it, morbidly intrigued by what was going to happen next. Well, no one can claim Neil Jordan makes conventional movies at least. Or many of them.