What’s this then? Only Lovers Left Alive, it’s the new Jim Jarmusch film – the eccentric director behind 2005’s Broken Flowers and 2003’s Coffee And Cigarettes.
What’s it about? Vampires. But not in a Twilight-y teenage angsty way. These vampires are cool as hell. One’s rock n’ roll star and the other floats round Tangiers in Morocco with Christopher Marlowe of the whole Shakespeare scandal fame – who's apparently a vampire too.
Erm, OK. Who’s In It? Tilda Swinton (who, by the way, is FIFTY THREE) and apple of our eye, love of our lives Tom Hiddleston. Also, Mia Wasikowska, who we want to be best friends with.
So do these vampires do anything? Yep, Tilda Swinton’s Eve and Tom Hiddleston’s Adam are vampire lovers and have been for centuries. Adam gets depressed by modern life and decides to kill himself, so Eve shows up to look after him. Problem is, then her naughty younger sister Ava (Wasikowska) shows up, too, and causes all manner of problems.
So what’s it got going for it? It’s SO cool. Achingly cool. You’ll never be as cool as anyone even remotely involved in this film. It helps that the vampires have to wear sunglasses at all times due to them being allergic to outside light and all that.
Having said that, it’s not inaccessible. It’s funny, shocking and heartbreaking in equal measures.
What are they saying? 'Bound to appeal to the more discerning, literary-minded strain of young goth, Only Lovers is a droll, classy piece of cinematic dandyism that makes the Twilight cycle redundant in one exquisitely languid stroke.” – The Guardian
What are we saying? It’s well worth a watch. If just to admire Tilda Swinton’s effortlessly perfect take on vampire chic. Also, Tom Hiddleston with matted black hair? Hello, young Jim Morrison. The film might prove a little bit too pleased with itself for some viewers but, for the rest, it’s an enjoyable last gasp from the vampire genre.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.