Movie Review: ‘BYZANTIUM’

“Only when you are ready to die can you receive eternal life,” sings the British-Irish vampire film Byzantium. If you have found yourself tired of vampires, this film could be the end to your blood-sucker blues. Admittedly, I am partial to the trope, but I can still identify a poor, tired plot. However, I found Byzantium to be more than just a breath of fresh air; to me, it was brilliance.

It is the story of Eleanor Webb (Saoirse Ronan), a teenager by appearances but a legend in truth. She travels with her “sister”, Clara (Gemma Arterton), who sells her beautiful, time-untouched body to provide money for their lodgings. But money cannot buy the two the sustenance they need–that costs a life. Although they both feed on blood, Clara and Eleanor are opposite in the way they go about picking their victims. While Eleanor chooses to relieve the terminally ill, Clara kills out of passion, exterminating anyone who gets in her way.

Eleanor believes in honesty, which is why she longs to confide in someone of her life and her torturous existence, but Clara–“full of secrets”–won’t allow her, for fear of revealing themselves as monsters. So instead they are constantly fleeing, moving from place to place only to follow the same routine of squatting, prostitution, and murder. Eleanor honors the past, to preserve it, she writes her story over and over, tossing the pages out into the wind each time she finishes; until she meets a boy she thinks she can trust with her secret…

Byzantium unfolds like a modern gothic tale and is as epic as it’s name–borrowed from the ancient Greek empire–implies. The story is absorbing and exquisite as it is heartbreaking. The characters are well-rounded and intriguing, and it is not hard to find yourself involved in their actions and emotions. Eleanor and sweet, kind and quiet, drawing everyone in with her beauty and mystery. Although she is strong and ruthless, she longs to be cared for, but is not allowed to love anyone and she cannot afford to let down her guard. Clara, on the other hand, is ferocious and sensual and has developed a palate for loathsome men. That she loves Eleanor is clear, but she has sacrificed a clean, proper life and instead survives the only way she knows how. A third spell-binding performance was given by American actor Caleb Landry Jones, who plays Frank, a lonely boy who has taken an interest in Eleanor–an interest she cannot help but share. His muted, emotional performance is incredibly unique and his role has most certainly brought him to my attention.He has already had a pretty promising career, and with luck he could be sticking to the genre; he starred in last year’s Canadian body horror film Antiviral.

Byzantium pays a respectful amount of homage to the trope; an example being that at one point Clara goes under the alias “Carmilla”, name of Irish horror author, Sheridan Le Fanu’s famous female vampire. At the same time it maintains originality. Some of the traditional rules we know are present (a vampire must be invited into a home to enter), but some unique ones are also presented (instead of fangs, these revenants have a dagger-like thumbnail they use to penetrate their victims). And of course, everyone has their own explanation for how a vampire is created (in 17th century Greece is was believe you could become a blood-sucker simply by having a cat jump over your grave) but Byzantium‘s is especially intriguing… I’ll leave it for you to see for yourself!

Although no accents are present, there is a heavy Irish influence on this film. As well as a load of Irish crew members, director Neil Jordan is also Irish as is writer Moira Buffini (who penned the screenplay of the wonderfully dark 2011 Jane Eyre film) and of course, our protagonist. Landscapes of this particular kind of beauty can only be found in Ireland, where most of the filming was done for Byzantium. Some locations include Hastings, a seaside town in East Sussex, England, the Beara peninsula in County Cork, and Dublin, a city I can proudly say I’ve visited and one that remains close to my heart.

Byzantium runs at 118 minutes, which may be a bit long for some, but if you like vampires, a slow-burn and dark fairytales, then I doubt you’ll even notice the time passing.