Only Lovers Left Alive
Apr. 21st, 2014 12:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fannishlissCalling all Hiddleston fans! you must see this movie!
This movie, for me, was a perfect storm. One of my all time favorite movies is Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp and Gary Farmer, dir. Jim Jarmusch (1995). I guess I haven't seen all of Jarmusch's work, and if I had to list my favorite directors, he would probably come third after Mel Brooks and David Lynch. :P But! Only Lovers Left Alive has shot to the top of all time favorite films. I was entranced from the very first minute.
It's actually pretty hard to review. Nothing much happens. There are two vampires, named Adam (hiddles) and Eve (Tilda Swinton), and they are married, but Adam is a reclusive rock star living in an old mansion in Detroit, while Eve lives in Tangier with her ancient vampire friend Kit Marlowe (John Hurt). Adam is suicidal because the humans, whom he calls zombies, are getting him down with their disrespect for art and revolutionary science. His house and car run on Tesla coils. Eve comes to cheer him up. Unfortunately her sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) also comes, and she is trouble.
Jim Jarmusch has a way with the camera, where he uses long, beautiful shots, that are simply beautiful and mesmerizing. Hiddleston is dressed all in black, and Swinton is dressed all in white, and they have these crazy mops of long, tangled, lifeless hair. The two of them are eternal soulmates and as soon as Eve returns they are entangled and it is shockingly beautiful. My husband points out that Adam looks like Gaiman's Morpheus, which is pretty much true. The whole movie is about the relationship between truly living and making art, which is pretty much the way of life in my family as well. :)
Adam says he has no heroes, but the wall of his bedroom is lined with portraits of great writers, musicians and scientists. Eve says he became suicidally romantic from too much hanging out with Byron and Shelley. :) Eve's house is lined with books, while Adam's is all instruments and recording equipment. When he has to abandon his house (noo!!!) he is distraught because he has to leave behind all of his instruments. In a review of the soundtrack, the artist working with Jarmusch says his goal is to make the Lute sexy again. Every moment is a beautiful tableau, every symbol meaningful, down to the wood of the instrument Eve gets for Adam.
Another great thing is the way Eve reads books: Pretty much the definition of bibliophilia, and every book lover's dream.
As a poet, there are things about science which sound great. Jarmusch takes advantage of this. There are songs on the album called "Diamond Star" and "Spooky Action from a Distance". In the film, these moments are loving lullabies told by Eve and Adam respectively, to comfort the other. sigh. If this film comes to my local art house theatre, I will be walking there every chance to see it again. I do recommend you see it on the big screen if possible; it is playing in two Landmark theatres right now in DC.
I can't wait until this comes out digitally. The preview features the beautiful image of Adam and Eve lying naked in bed together and there should be ALL THE ICONS of Hiddleston's gorgeous flank. Also, Eve's flank is pretty impressive as well. :) If you have not seen much of Tilda Swinton, seek out Orlando at least. She was also in Broken Flowers (2005), dir. Jarmusch, with Bill Murray, but unfortunately that film did not have the impact on me that Dead Man did, or my other favorite by him, Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). I loved Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999), starring Forest Whitaker, but I need to watch that one again. It also has that beautiful stillness to it that Dead Man and Only Lovers have.
Basically this whole movie was one long swoon of pleasure for me.... with my husband beside me in the theatre quoting Hamlet along with John Hurt.
Need also to reread some Stevie Smith: Great Unaffected Vampires and the Moon. :) ... vampires used to be my favorite monsters, before they became so common. I like how they are immortal, yet fragile. And how they span the ages, necessarily interwoven with human history, because humans are their prey. I love the leonine aspect of vampires thirsty for blood. Jarmusch does all this subtly and beautifully. Blood is their heroin.
This movie, for me, was a perfect storm. One of my all time favorite movies is Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp and Gary Farmer, dir. Jim Jarmusch (1995). I guess I haven't seen all of Jarmusch's work, and if I had to list my favorite directors, he would probably come third after Mel Brooks and David Lynch. :P But! Only Lovers Left Alive has shot to the top of all time favorite films. I was entranced from the very first minute.
It's actually pretty hard to review. Nothing much happens. There are two vampires, named Adam (hiddles) and Eve (Tilda Swinton), and they are married, but Adam is a reclusive rock star living in an old mansion in Detroit, while Eve lives in Tangier with her ancient vampire friend Kit Marlowe (John Hurt). Adam is suicidal because the humans, whom he calls zombies, are getting him down with their disrespect for art and revolutionary science. His house and car run on Tesla coils. Eve comes to cheer him up. Unfortunately her sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) also comes, and she is trouble.
Jim Jarmusch has a way with the camera, where he uses long, beautiful shots, that are simply beautiful and mesmerizing. Hiddleston is dressed all in black, and Swinton is dressed all in white, and they have these crazy mops of long, tangled, lifeless hair. The two of them are eternal soulmates and as soon as Eve returns they are entangled and it is shockingly beautiful. My husband points out that Adam looks like Gaiman's Morpheus, which is pretty much true. The whole movie is about the relationship between truly living and making art, which is pretty much the way of life in my family as well. :)
Adam says he has no heroes, but the wall of his bedroom is lined with portraits of great writers, musicians and scientists. Eve says he became suicidally romantic from too much hanging out with Byron and Shelley. :) Eve's house is lined with books, while Adam's is all instruments and recording equipment. When he has to abandon his house (noo!!!) he is distraught because he has to leave behind all of his instruments. In a review of the soundtrack, the artist working with Jarmusch says his goal is to make the Lute sexy again. Every moment is a beautiful tableau, every symbol meaningful, down to the wood of the instrument Eve gets for Adam.
Another great thing is the way Eve reads books: Pretty much the definition of bibliophilia, and every book lover's dream.
As a poet, there are things about science which sound great. Jarmusch takes advantage of this. There are songs on the album called "Diamond Star" and "Spooky Action from a Distance". In the film, these moments are loving lullabies told by Eve and Adam respectively, to comfort the other. sigh. If this film comes to my local art house theatre, I will be walking there every chance to see it again. I do recommend you see it on the big screen if possible; it is playing in two Landmark theatres right now in DC.
I can't wait until this comes out digitally. The preview features the beautiful image of Adam and Eve lying naked in bed together and there should be ALL THE ICONS of Hiddleston's gorgeous flank. Also, Eve's flank is pretty impressive as well. :) If you have not seen much of Tilda Swinton, seek out Orlando at least. She was also in Broken Flowers (2005), dir. Jarmusch, with Bill Murray, but unfortunately that film did not have the impact on me that Dead Man did, or my other favorite by him, Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). I loved Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999), starring Forest Whitaker, but I need to watch that one again. It also has that beautiful stillness to it that Dead Man and Only Lovers have.
Basically this whole movie was one long swoon of pleasure for me.... with my husband beside me in the theatre quoting Hamlet along with John Hurt.
Need also to reread some Stevie Smith: Great Unaffected Vampires and the Moon. :) ... vampires used to be my favorite monsters, before they became so common. I like how they are immortal, yet fragile. And how they span the ages, necessarily interwoven with human history, because humans are their prey. I love the leonine aspect of vampires thirsty for blood. Jarmusch does all this subtly and beautifully. Blood is their heroin.
