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Byzantium
| Released |
31 May 2013 |
| Director |
Neil Jordan |
Starring
|
Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley, Caleb Landry Jones, Jonny Lee Miller, Maria Doyle Kennedy |
| Writer(s) |
Moira Buffini |
Producer(s)
|
Sam Englebardt, William D. Johnson, Elizabeth Karlsen, Alan Molone, Stephen Woolley |
Origin
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United Kingdom, United States, Ireland |
| Running Time |
118 minutes |
| Genre |
Drama, fantasy, thriller |
| Rating |
15A |
|
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Tooth and claw.
The vampire myth is uniquely malleable, and has been changed countless times according to fashions in both society and cinema. For every Twilight, there is a Let the Right One In as the tide moves backwards and forwards between high camp and fantastic realism. So it is with Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, as he revisits the genre he scored such success with nearly twenty years ago with Interview With the Vampire. Although there are many similarities between the two narratives, time has changed the mood of both the filmmaker and his bloodthirsty protagonists.
While Lestat and Louis of Interview With the Vampire meandered through a rich historical tapestry as playboys in voluminous shirts, Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) and Clara (Gemma Arterton) have always had it hard. They survive on their wits (and in Clara’s case on her body), sheltering in council flats while playing a centuries old cat and mouse game with a league of vampires who consider female vampires an abomination. Their latest move is to a shabby seaside town, where they establish a home in a run down B&B. Though Clara emphasises the importance of secrecy, Eleanor has become tired of their solitary life and longs to let somebody into their secret.
The dynamic between Clara and Eleanor is one we have seen before - the hedonistic vampire clashing with the more soulful, self-loathing one. What marks it out as different is they are mother/daughter; at times the fact that Clara and Eleanor are vampires almost becomes insignificant, as the older woman tries to fiercely protect the younger, even as she slips slowly out of her grasp. Arterton and Ronan are both captivating and are head and shoulders above the slightly lacklustre turns from both Sam Riley and Caleb Landry Jones.
The fact that the mood is a little uneven can be forgiven - this is Jordan’s best work for a long while, marrying the lyrical nature of his last film Ondine with a healthy dose of the bloodily gothic.
-
Linda O’Brien |
