Byzantium
{4/5} “If you lived with a secret, and the secret meant that you must always lie and be alone and you’d always lived that way, and yet you longed for change — what would you do?”
Clara and Eleanor, mother and daughter, have been vampires for 200 years. They have to drink the blood of humans, so they don’t tend to stay in one place very long. Clara lives in the present but Eleanor remembers everything, and has disturbing dreams — both at night and during the day. Eleanor has never met another vampire, and Clara has left out some aspects of their history — but the Brotherhood of vampires is on their trail.
Byzantium was released earlier this year.
Clara relishes life as a vampire, feeding off of people she doesn’t like. Eleanor is more of a reluctant vampire, feeding off of people who are already near death.
A series of flashbacks shows Clara and Eleanor when they were young and alive — and when they became vampires.
Like other vampire movies, some parts are fairly disturbing. The dark relentless tone is similar to Interview With the Vampire or Let Me In.
It’s good but the story isn’t quite as interesting as I wanted it to be.
The mysterious music is by Javier Navarrete (Pan’s Labyrinth). There’s also some classical music by Beethoven, Schubert, and Debussy.
Saoirse Ronan (The Way Back) plays Eleanor And Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) plays Clara. Jonny Lee Miller (the TV show Elementary) plays Ruthven.
The movie was directed by Neil Jordan (Interview With the Vampire).