DVD Review: Only Lovers Left Alive

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Expectations vs Reality 
all vampires have dry, teased hair. meanwhile Yelchin does his best Rory Culkin impression

I had really high expectations for this film the minute I saw it was in production. Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin? Sold. I expected it to be fascinating and sexy but by the time I actually got my hands on it, I found nothing really happens in this film at all.

Adam (Hiddleston) is an old vampire living in Detroit. He's a text book emo who makes music, but doesn't want it to get "too mainstream." He hates his life, refers to humans as "Zombies" and contemplates suicide. His wife, Eve (Swinton) who has been living in Tangiers pays him a visit to liven up his mood. According to most summaries of this film I've read, all is going well until Eve's little sister Ava (Wasikowska) shows up and disrupts everything.

I point that out because I thought it was going to be a big part of the movie, when in reality, Ava is part of the story for roughly 10 minutes. She shows up, is a pain in the ass and leaves. Then Adam carries on being emo and Eve carries on trying to put up with it. The film just wasn't that interesting. It didn't even have the decency to give us a Adam and Eve sex scene. Instead, we just have these characters drifting by. The film shows hints of promise, but never actually follows through with any of them.

Recommended: No

Grade: C

Memorable Quote: "What do you expect, he's a musician?" - Eve (Tilda Swinton) 

Comments

  1. Tanner JonesSeptember 10, 2014 at 12:31 PM

    I agree that this one was quite a bore. However, Swinton's performance was spot-on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. s.September 10, 2014 at 1:22 PM

    Sorry you didn't like this one more! i like slower, more unique vampire movies so I was all for it, even if it was slightly boring. The performances were great and I loved the music Adam was creating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 11, 2014 at 6:38 AM

      I'm bummed I didn't like it either because I really wanted to.

      Delete
  3. Candice FrederickSeptember 10, 2014 at 3:22 PM

    lol emo is how i described tom hiddleston in the movie. but i actually really liked the movie, but i get that not *much* happens. it's more about the relationship between the couple, i think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 11, 2014 at 6:38 AM

      That's true, but it still didn't give us a lot about that either. I was just let down.

      Delete
  4. m.brownSeptember 11, 2014 at 10:11 PM

    I think I'm developing narcolepsy. Seriously. This movie would probably kill me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 12, 2014 at 7:25 AM

      lol. It's a damn shame, because the cast is so good.

      Delete
  5. msmariahSeptember 13, 2014 at 10:31 PM

    I really wish this film had been better. It had a great atmosphere, but was missing something. Cast was great. I loved the idea behind the film.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2014 at 2:50 AM

    Even after all those negative reviews, even yours, I'm holding on to hope that I will like this film. Oh, Hiddles. He should do more stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 16, 2014 at 6:41 AM

      That was kind of my feeling on this. I knew it wasn't getting stellar reviews, but I thought I'd still like it.

      Delete
  7. JoshDecember 2, 2014 at 2:48 PM

    I went in not knowing what to expect, and I loved it. The pacing, tone and look of the film were terrific. Plus, Wasikowska totally steals the show.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 3, 2014 at 6:47 AM

      I think about this film a lot. I wonder if I had scene it right out of the gate, if I would've liked it better because I wouldn't have hyped it so much.

      Delete

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