Review: Only Lovers Left Alive

Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Starring by Tilda Swinton (Eve), Tom Hiddleston (Adam), Anton Yelchin (Ian), Mia Wasikowska (Ava), and John Hurt (Marlowe)

Written by Jim Jarmusch

Cinematography Yorick Le Saux

Edited by Affonso Gonҫalves

Released in 2014

When I say Only Lovers Left Alive is a vampire movie, certain genres and styles spring to mind, regardless of their relevance to Jarmusch’s picture. The most immediate association is with horror. Undead bloodsuckers have been fodder for scary movies since the birth of the medium. Horror as a film genre was kickstarted with two tales of vampirism: F.W. Murnau’s illegal adaption of Bram Stoker’s most famous novel, Nosferatu, and Universal Studio’s sanctioned version, Dracula.  There’s not a whole lot of straight terror in Only Lovers Left Alive. The problems of acquiring blood are acknowledged, and Adam has a particularly gruesome way of disposing of “evidence”, but beyond that, comparisons to other horror films are moot. The other way vampirism is typically tackled, is an investigation of the attraction of immortality and increased prowess as can be seen in Park Chan-Wook’s Thirst, and less successfully in Twilight. Again, Only Lovers Left Alive doesn’t quite fit into that category either, although similar elements are sprinkled throughout. Instead, the film is a meditation on how an extremely long life can affect your outlook. I’ve only seen one other Jarmusch film, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, but I understand that he is known for his wry sense of humor, which is present here.

By the time we catch up with them, Adam and Eve have got their affliction figured out. They’ve both made arrangements to receive bloodbags from less scrupulous doctors. With ample money and time, they spend their days listening to and creating music, reading, and lounging about in their respective environs (Detroit for Adam and Tangier for Eve). Adam is getting antsy over his long lifespan and frets about where the world is heading. Eve seems to have come to grips with her immortality, and has a more positive, cyclical view of the world (it’s implied that she’s been around for 1000+ years, while Adam was turned sometime in the 1800s).

Only Lovers Left Alive is obsessed with the texture of objects and places. Mood and feel are given precedence over narrative. Adam refuses to go digital, surrounding himself with vinyl, tube amps, and vintage guitars. He panics briefly when he has to receive a Skype call from Eve on a computer, but quickly relaxes when he switches the feed to a CRT television. Eve speed reads through a bookshelf and the sound of her fingers rapidly turning pages and the cutting between her eyes and the books creates a hunger for knowledge. She also has the ability to tell the age of objects through touch. The film stops dead to allow Adam, Eve, and the viewer to view an impromptu street performance in Tangier. Numerous scenes are given over to the central pair driving around Detroit commenting on the state of the city and pointing out various historical facts. In one of the best scenes of the year, they drive to on old, abandoned movie theater. The camera roves around the various surfaces of the space, probing its darkened interiors as Adam describes its glorious past and laments its fate. The images onscreen and Adam’s words meld to create a third picture in the mind of the viewer of a busy night in the theater’s heyday. The scene is beautiful and sad all in one. It wouldn’t be out of place at all if Adam and Eve had stumbled upon some film stock only to watch it crumble as they held it.

Speaking of texture, Only Lovers Left Alive manages to capture a specific look that I find to be lacking in most modern films. Whenever I watched on old black and white movie, especially a silent, I’m always struck by the soft lighting and graininess. Overall, this creates the effect of an extreme delicacy. Like if I walked up to the screen and touched the surface I would feel whatever is onscreen or accidentally cause the picture to disintegrate. Cinematographer Yorick le Saux captures a similar vibe, for which I will be eternally grateful. In the digital age, this kind of filmmaking is in danger of going extinct.