Review of Byzantium (2013) by The Movie W — 30 May 2013

Neil Jordan returns to the vampire genre- his 1st effort was the uneven but enjoyable "Interview with a Vampire". This is no Twilight, nor is it Blade. It plays like a vampire drama, sticking to real world dynamics-no super fast motion, wall jumping or wolf/bat transformations. The tale is composed of two elements-two female vampires on the run and holed up in a seaside town, which is interspersed with their back story in slightly non-linear style. This keeps up a little mystery but hides a relatively formulaic origin to the protagonists.

Ronan & Arterton are very good in completely different roles, chalk & cheese to one another. As with Jordan's last vamp flick, Vamps can be filled with melancholy, sadness and boredom. During the mid section I felt the same. Ronan is great playing these elements, but we have seen it before and the dialogue is no great shakes to make it seem nothing other than a great actress play a weary bored sad immortal.

Things do pick up though when the old school male order of vampires track them down for a showdown of sorts.

Arterton is more fun as the straight up tart (with a little heart)-whose scheming, thieving and plying her trade on her back over 200 years is pure survival.

Ronan's acting might be great but her 200yr 16 yr old's character motivation aren't. Would she really have been so open and honest to the geeky hotel bus boy who is trying to beat cancer? No. The One poor element is this ginger geek- his delivery, mannerisms and character made me cringe. One great part is the solitary isle and waterfall where people go to turn. It's visually poetic. The languid pace and lack of action might put some off but it makes a change from the deftness of Twilight.