Review of Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) by Manny C — 15 May 2014

How's this for a night at the movies? Spending two hours with a pair of centuries old vampires in an old apartment devoid of anything digital in the depopulated ruins of Detroit as they drink blood and listen to vinyl records. If that doesn't quite strike your fancy just yet, know that this mesmerizing film is the brainchild of indie filmmaking genius Jim Jarmusch, whose films define cavalier lyricism. Just see Stranger Than Paradise, Down By Law, Mystery Train, Night On Earth, Dead Man, Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai or Broken Flowers.

And if that doesn't do it for you, know too that Tom Hiddleston is Adam, the Detroit vamp getting a regular supply type O Negativo from a local hospital doctor (Jeffrey Wright), even though his true addiction is for guitars. Adam adores his guitars, like his 1966 Hagstrom and early 60's Silvetone that he gets from Ian (Anton Yelchin), a dealer he refers to as a zombie, which is what he calls all of humanity.

But the aim of this dazzling film is not to rub our faces in elitism. That becomes clear in the person of Adam's eternal love, Eve (the amazing Tilda Swinton, never bad) who jets in during the graveyard hours from her place in Tangiers where she hangs out with playwright Christopher Marlowe (John Hurt), still smarting over the fact that Shakespeare gets all the credit for the plays he wrote. Once she arrives in Detroit, she and Adam just laze around like two carefree swooning lovers, taking in music and conversation on Byron, amid Adam's portraits of his heroes, from Kafka and Billie Holiday to Thelonious Monk. They may be quite deadly, but dead they aren't, displaying an ageless wit of literary and artistic proportions, like when they make travel plans under the names of Stephen Dedalus and Daisy Buchanan. Nothing much happens, save for a visit from Eve's wild little sister (Mia Wasikowska). Only Lovers Left Alive is a film that exudes wry cool and atmosphere you can get drunk on. Hiddleston and Swinton are the hottest vampires ever, and Jarmusch, clearly in love with these characters, shows his skill in the fact he took several years to raise the $7 million it took to create this terrific film. There are some who still give Jarmusch flak for resisting digital, but screw them. Jarmusch is still an expert spellbinder, as is this brilliant film.