Review of Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) by Madeleine B — 27 Apr 2014

Finding myself repeatedly impressed with Jim Jarmusch's efforts as a filmmaker, Only Lovers Left Alive sounded like a feature definitely worth the viewing.

The same way that Jim Jarmusch put a psychedelic twist on the samurai genre with Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and on the western genre with Dead Man, Jim Jarmusch creates an all new look at the vampire genre with Only Lovers Left Alive. While it isn't the most deep exploration of vampire mythology and like all of Jim Jarmusch's films maintains a slow pace, it manages to use the pace to echo the melancholic immortality that the characters face as vampires. Jim Jarmusch's films tend to commonly be about normal people in empty or basic lives who are dragged through complicated situations and realise something on the way, and he applies that theme to Only Lovers Left Alive as its vampires live out their empty lifestyles questioning what the point of anything is.

A consistently dark drama, Only Lovers Left Alive has a certain mesmerising effect on the viewer. Its story explores both romantic drama and vampire mythology, while focusing more on the nature of the characters and how they think than solely on the nature of them as vampires. Only Lovers Left Alive is one of the few vampire films to not label its characters as vampires and make them more important for other reasons than simply what kind of a creature they are, and on the strength of its intelligent script and visual style, it comes out as one of Jim Jarmusch's greatest and most ambitious films.

The script in Only Lovers Left Alive is genius. It creates complicated figures out of its protagonists Adam and Eve, projecting the kind of life they live and their approaches to situations on the basis of the mere words they say. The clever way that it is written to have one of the vampires be the infamous playwright Christopher Marlowe is a nice touch as well. The characters in Only Lovers Left Alive are thoughtful and intelligent, some of the best characters that Jim Jarmusch has ever created for cinema. The script even implements a nice touch of dark humour which pokes fun at the music industry, saying that the famous aren't always the truly talented and that a lot of people in the music industry are sick individuals. This can be seen as an allegory for the mainstream movie industry which is obsessed with commercialisation and moneymaking while focusing on creating good cinema second, things that Jim Jarmusch is against in his filmmaking.

And visually, Only Lovers Left Alive is a magnificent spectacle. The film opens by showing off the psychedelic cinematography that Jim Jarmusch has in stock for the film. It begins in a trippy spinning motion which reflects the rotation of one of Adam's records playing. It is so trippy that it is likely to leave audiences fairly dizzy, because it had that effect on me. One of the most consistent feelings in the cinematography is that things feel a little bit claustrophobic to emphasise the mood of the story in the way that the characters are trapped in a life of immortality which is starting to take its toll on Adam's wellbeing. Usually, vampire films maintain a fairly large scale, but as this one follows them largely as they are confined to their homes, things feel very small in scale and character oriented which benefits the mood of the feature and the atmosphere. Jim Jarmusch explores his films with some innovative angles, possibly worthy of an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. And it captures the strong scenery of the film as well as the lavish and dark yet somewhat colourful production design that the Adam's apartment is designed to have in Only Lovers Left Alive. It is all edited timely as well.

And the musical score is one of the best elements in Only Lovers Left Alive to enhance its psychedelic and trippy intense mood. It keeps things holding a certain sense of beautiful surreal mystery to it, the kind of element you find in a David Lynch film thanks to the musical style of Angelo Badalementi. Jim Jarmusch gets a similar sort of mood with the psychedelic musical style of Jozef van Wissem which establishes a tense and mysterious atmosphere, and it ensures that the mood of Only Lovers Left Alive never falters.

And when its boils down to the talents of the cast, Only Lovers Left Alive has its material exhibited with ease by the actors it has lined up.

Tom Hiddleston takes on the lead role in Only Lovers Left Alive with his best possible acting talents. While he is well known for his extroverted and comically flamboyant portrayal of Loki in the Thor film series, he takes on a role quite the opposite in Only Lovers Left Alive where his character is a very introverted and aimless in life. And he takes on the part with an unflinching darkness which makes it his best performance to date in a small scale film. Tom Hiddleston is perfectly handsome for the part which makes him a treat for the eyes, and the way that he articulates his voice into a strongly melancholic sadness is wonderful for the material. Jim Jarmusch and Tom Hiddleston work together excellently in Only Lovers Left Alive and it brings out some of his best talents.

Tilda Swinton's lead role is fairly impressive as well. The Academy Award winning actress reminds us what her best talents are by pouring her strength into the small and character-focused elements of the story in Only Lovers Left Alive. She takes on the role of Eve with a certain acting strength that only comes with age, and she emits a certain sense of wisdom in her role as she serves as the protector of her partner Adam. The chemistry they share has a certain sense of loving passion to it, and Tilda Swinton's sex appeal is even emphasised to a certain extent. Tilda Swinton makes a fine presence in Only Lovers Left Alive and her sharp line delivery and sense of mystery makes her a great lead.

Mia Wasikowska plays out her role with a certain youthful charisma which is both humourous and annoying, and when she enters she changes the mood of the story from its melancholy to something else. Instead of the audiences being unsure of what to feel like the characters, they begin to feel the annoyance at her presence. But not in a bad way, in a good way. Mia Wasikoska brings her natural charm and energy to her role in Only Lovers Left Alive and she proves to be a strong benefit to the cast.

Lastly, John Hurt's supporting performance as Christopher Marlowe was terrific because within his brief amount of time on screen he established a sense of mysterious wisdom which strengthened the mood of the situations and made things feel supported. It is easy to sympathise for him in Only Lovers Left Alive and he makes the entire feature more compelling.

So although slow and not too deep in its exploration of vampire mythology, Only Lovers Left Alive is a trippy and innovative twist on the vampire genre with a psychedelic mood established by Jim Jarmusch's thoughtful writing, his stylish direction and the skill of a talented cast. It is equal to Dead Man in being my favourite Jim Jarmusch film.