Only Lovers Left Alive

Vacuous.

Ignore the reviews from those who are unable to appreciate a subtle, inspiring piece of art. Only Lovers Left Alive is not just a film, but an experience. The first notable feature is the music - experimental, shoegaze, baroque lute - which paints an awe-inspiring backdrop to a modern artistic triumph, while sending you deeply into a trance. The visual aesthetics combine tastefully stylised cinematography with the atmosphere of Gothic fiction. Tom Hiddleston shows that outside of Marvel adaptations, he can be an astounding actor, while Tilda Swinton effortlessly conveys an immortal, tied to a dying world. The supporting role of Charles Marlowe from John Hurt, albeit short, is once again portrayed beautifully. The beauty lies within the slow plot - leaving the film feeling almost as a slice-of-life. Arguably one of the most-underrated, beautifully made films in history, taking 7 years for Jarmusch to complete it. If you are reading this, buy the goddamn film. You'll understand why afterwards.

So painfully boring I can't explain it, nothing happens at at all ... Avoid at all costs 😏

To be fair, Swinton and Hiddleston give charmingly light performances dotted with intensity at all the right moments. Scene by scene it’s quite lovely. But those scenes are mostly far to drawn out and, as others have said, there’s precious little plot over the two hours, making it feel much longer. If you like the Eraserhead arthouse style then you might find this immersive and dreamy. The music certainly helps. But overall I found it far too self-absorbed and pompous, neglecting plot, movement, pace and, dare I say, entertainment.

Wow…all the great reviews sucked me in. But a non-eventful film, without any depth either to redeem it. Avoid if you’re after an interesting film.

A great movie if you are a emo teenager. Otherwise avoid. The plot goes nowhere, it is boring to the point I could barely watch it all.

This beautifully shot, humorous, philosophical and fun. I loved the moments and music of it and have chosen this for my first ever review. You won’t regret watching this. There’s too much to enjoy.

This is a beautiful piece of cinematography, the actors are first class & execute their roles well, but story doesn’t go anywhere. I could easily have switched off, half way through but I wanted to see it through until the end. Maybe it’s subtle nuances were lost on me, but I wanted to be entertained. It felt like a chapter of a book, rather than a whole story & though it was visually beautiful I have a collection of ‘World Of Interiors’ magazines that I could have flicked through that would have been just as inspiring.

A visual and aural feat of a film - the best vampire movie since the Hunger!

This is very much a ‘day in the life of’ film and knowing this will make for an easier first watch. Initially I kept checking how far into the film I was - mostly because I was expecting something extremely dramatic to happen. I’ve now re-watching before my rental runs out, and wish I had bought it rather than rented! Usually the other way around for my movie purchases on iTunes! Its slow, beautifully styled, funny, with real characters and great music.