Jim Jarmusch’s latest may feature some familiar vampire iconography, whether it be the pallid anti-heroes or their thirst for blood, but Only Lovers Left Alive is as much a lament for the death of art and culture as it is about a centuries old love story. It is also the director’s best film in years, a haunting and hypnotic mood piece less interested in clever plotting and more about its heady nocturnal atmosphere.

Tom Hiddleston stars as Adam, a vampire sinking into a melancholic and existential funk, who is stranded in a decaying and abandoned Detroit whilst left alone to create symphonic drone music. He is reunited with Eve (Tilda Swinton), his centuries old lover who is still aware of…

TIFF 2013 – film #3

Reason for pick: director Jim Jarmusch, Tilda Swinton, my wife’s love of all things Vampire.

It was a rainy day. Literally. Standing in line at the Bloor Cinema with the clouds wide open was really starting to affect my normally bright and cheery mood. Granted, this was a Jim Jarmusch film, but I really only know him by reputation, as I’d only seen Down by Law, and Broken Flowers. There was the Tilda Swinton factor. Love her. I couldn’t think of a bad film she was in until our friend Len reminded me of I Am Love. Hated that one. The real reason I’m here, standing in the rain, is my wife’s love of Vampire…

The wealth of knowledge vampires must amass after thousands of years is fully realized in Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive. Even though most vampire films have explored the longevity of the immortal, we very rarely see them reminisce about Nikola Tesla, the Spanish inquisition or Charlie Feathers' music. They adapt, survive, evolve, dance, read, make music, and most importantly - they love.

Adam is a wistful poet, secluded in his decrepit house in Detroit where he spends most of his time writing funeral music and contemplating suicide. His wife, Eve, lives in Tangiers, surrounded by books in various languages with only enough space in the middle of her floor to dance. Their interests may be different but they respectfully…

“How could you have lived so long and still not get it?”

Jim Jarmusch brings a fresh spin to the very familiar vampire tale and delivers a solid and unique film that is unlike any other from the genre. Only Lovers Left Alive will stand alone considering it lacks the horror and action elements that the classic vampire films always introduce, and it also avoids the romantic cliches as well. It is an existential vampire film where you have two very distinct characters. On the one hand there is Tom Hiddleston’s character who has been around for centuries and is living in Detroit along with his growing music collection. He has grown weary with the way humans (or as he…

Jarmusch movies are always a very comfortable watch for me even if the subject is a vampire couple. His characters are always subdued or beaten by life in some way and he shows the mundaneness in their life yet he makes them fascinating. It helps that one of them is played by Tom Hiddlestone who does the dangerous yet charming look so well (even better here than in the Marvel films). It isn't a horror film by any means but Hiddlestone's eyes keep you on your toes regardless. Tilda Swinton's character is almost warm and motherly while everyone and everything else feels out of place in the tranquil world of these two vampires. The characters are possibly just as agitated…