BYZANTIUM,
now on Netflix
If
it happens to be dark outside, and you're looking through your streaming
services to find a descent vampire movie, then I highly recommend calling up
Netflix and watching Byzantium.
Without
spoiling anything, you're in for the story of two female vampires and their
tale of survival. The first is Eleanor,
played by Saoirse Ronan, (which, btw, sounds like an awesome vampire name,) and
her older sister, Clara, played by Gemma Arterton, (which is an equally
impressive vampire name!)
Eleanor
is an immortal trapped in the body of a sixteen year old. She appears to be beholden to Clara, who
claims to be her older sister, though the two could not be any more different. Clara is a devious seductress who seems
perpetually drawn to the darker corners of the sex trade. Her fishnet shirts and high heeled boots
contrast sharply with Eleanor, who is a cardigan-wearing, introspective artist.
But
as the movie progresses, we begin to discover the roots of these two vampires
and the complex relationship that holds them together. All the things that a vampire enthusiast
hopes for in a film can be found here, from bloodletting victims in remote
corners of the urban sprawl, to flashbacks of the vampires' mortal lives, to
fleeting glimpses of the larger tapestry of vampire secrets in the world.
If
any of this sounds familiar, that might be because Byzantium is directed by
Neil Jordan, who gave us Interview with the Vampire. But whether you hated or loved his
interpretation of Interview, this movie deserves your attention. What he's done with Byzantium is give
us a character study of two vampires that is both rich and bleak at the same
time. The nuances of their relationship
are new to the vampire genre, and that doesn't happen often these days.
And
when it comes to vampire tropes, Byzantium rarely takes the easy way out,
always giving a slightly new interpretation, while never straying far from what
is familiar. The vampire origin story is
especially vivd.
There
are some nods to previous vampire works in the naming of certain characters, as
well as the casting of Johnny Lee Miller in a minor role. Miller's pedigree includes the debatably
important Dracula 2000, where he portrays a young vampire hunter. In Byzantium, his character is far
different, and surprisingly short on screen time. (I'm assuming he did this one during a lull
in his career, before he took the lead in Elementary.)
Tom
Hollander also appears in a small role in Byzantium, who was previously
seen hunting Saoirse Ronan in another movie, Hanna.
But
ultimately, it's the performances of the two leads that make this film. Both are haunting and devastating in their
own way, with Saoirse channeling a girl desperate to break free of the child
that she's been playing for over a hundred years. Meanwhile, Gemma plays counter to the role
that we've grown accustomed to seeing her in: as that of the wise and aloof
love interest to the adventuring hero.
In this, she is an unapologetic survivor - damaged, dangerous, and
cunning, pulling at any thread she can in order to insure that the two vampires
are always one step ahead of their enemies.
For
the vampire fan, Byzantium is worth your time. It's tense, indulgent, sexy, and dark, and
it's streaming right now.
By:
Sean Rourke
