Review of Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) by Peter F — 13 Apr 2014

While often seen as a groundbreaking director for American arthouse films, it also should not be forgotten that Jim Jarmusch has giving us plenty of offbeat genre films as well. Only Lovers Left Alive sees the director making a stab at the vampire genre, and the result is pure Jarmusch, as it's a film that's loyal to his passions while remaining equal parts hip and philosophical.

Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston make for an absorbing onscreen couple, and supplied with Jarmusch's wry dialogue, they film is often funny in the most melancholic sense. It also uses it's backdrop of immortality and music to explore a central theme regarding aging in an ever changing society, a focus I feel that so many vampire stories have inadequately lacked.

It's not without it's repetitions, and the movie's story may prove too simple for some, but Only Lovers Left Alive is a superior entry for Jarmusch's catalog, and a reminder of why his brand is necessary.