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7

beingryanjudeNov 8, 2014

One of the most unique, fascinating pieces of vampire storytelling. It's real, romantic and bleak. Tilda Swinton & Tom Hiddleston are a brilliant match. Mia Wasikowska gives a brief, yet superb performance.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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5

WadeVSSep 28, 2014

An enormous case of style over substance, this was VERY thin on plot and very big on cool soundtrack and artsy shots of Swinton wandering down Moroccan streets. A bit like a perfume advert. Brilliant if you like vapid and sexy.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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4

HoonsagoMay 11, 2014

It is completely unfathomable how this movie gained such a high rating. Transcending any desires of life expect to thirst for blood, these vampires are utterly detached from the normal people's lives. There was hardly a single moment whileIt is completely unfathomable how this movie gained such a high rating. Transcending any desires of life expect to thirst for blood, these vampires are utterly detached from the normal people's lives. There was hardly a single moment while watching the movie that I could relate to.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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9

LowbrowCinemaApr 20, 2014

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE made me swoon. I really don't like Jarmusch's films, in fact, I pretty much detest them. But this film works on every level. So slight but it knows it. So cool but it doesn't seem to be trying. Looks great, soundsONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE made me swoon. I really don't like Jarmusch's films, in fact, I pretty much detest them. But this film works on every level. So slight but it knows it. So cool but it doesn't seem to be trying. Looks great, sounds great, and smells great. YES! I could smell this film. Tilda Swinton is the heart and soul of the picture. Without her it would not be what it is. She's so jaded, lovely, and optimistic all at once. Overall, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE is a lovely meditation on the history of consciousness, deep love, real love, and the inability of mankind to appreciate it all. I guess you really do have to live forever to get it.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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10

ThegodfathersonApr 11, 2014

Yes, Only Lovers Left Alive is another vampire movie. Yes, the characters are very pale and old and romantic. Yes, it is very much full of clichés and stereotypes. However, it is also wickedly smart, beautifully shot, filled to the brim withYes, Only Lovers Left Alive is another vampire movie. Yes, the characters are very pale and old and romantic. Yes, it is very much full of clichés and stereotypes. However, it is also wickedly smart, beautifully shot, filled to the brim with talent and full of cultural witticisms. This is a movie for film lovers and pop culture enthusiasts. It is a vampire film that takes advantage of its time span; cultural references dating back hundreds of years can be found at every corner. Only Lovers Left Alive does not focus on blood and gore, it is not a thriller nor a horror, it doesn't even truly focus on the world of vampires. Instead, Jarmusch studies the eternal, he explores the quiet, perhaps boring, every day life of a modern, intelligent and ancient being who has, quite literally, seen it all.… Expand

6 of 10 users found this helpful64

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2

JamesLMay 25, 2014

Another boring film from this director. Stylish and well filmed simply isn't enough if you don't have a reason for the movie. I could not see the reason for this film. What was the story?. Hell, I had to get coffee just to stay awake.Another boring film from this director. Stylish and well filmed simply isn't enough if you don't have a reason for the movie. I could not see the reason for this film. What was the story?. Hell, I had to get coffee just to stay awake. Something has to happen in a movie and nothing did except the visit from Eve's sister. This film was as dead as "Deadman". I certainly don't get it.… Expand

4 of 7 users found this helpful43

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10

AzurimJun 14, 2014

Only Lovers Left Alive is probably the first realistic movie about vampires, creatures that can live for hundreds of years and drink human blood (rhesus negative preferably). They are smart, talented, they know a lot, they admire science,Only Lovers Left Alive is probably the first realistic movie about vampires, creatures that can live for hundreds of years and drink human blood (rhesus negative preferably). They are smart, talented, they know a lot, they admire science, they have a sense of class, but they have their own problems specific to their lifestyle and needs. Both the choice of actors and the way they act are amazing, especially Tilda Swinton, who is a natural "born to be a vampire". The movie brings a very deep atmosphere with both music and decorations. The movie also addresses certain social issues such as the issue of "zombies" or I would say morons in the world around us and the limitedness of our natural resources. The appearance of the vampire sister of the main protagonist somewhat mocks all those other vampire movies by showing us a comparison between the really profound and realistic vampires presented by Jarmusch and their somewhat boring and mentally limited classic counterparts from movies like the Twilight. 10 out of 10.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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6

MantisAug 23, 2014

While the shots, scenes, characters are all terribly wonderful, it's also rather boring and at times way too slowly paced. Surely there's deeper ideas behind the conversations and comments of the ancient and wise characters, but I was yawningWhile the shots, scenes, characters are all terribly wonderful, it's also rather boring and at times way too slowly paced. Surely there's deeper ideas behind the conversations and comments of the ancient and wise characters, but I was yawning more than once. Rather unfortunate while otherwise it was a great experience and beautifully made.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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8

ClariseSamuelsNov 8, 2014

This film is a close-up of a worldly vampire couple (Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston) who have been around for about five hundred years, give or take a century. The plot is minimalist and what little plot there is plays itself out veryThis film is a close-up of a worldly vampire couple (Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston) who have been around for about five hundred years, give or take a century. The plot is minimalist and what little plot there is plays itself out very slowly, as this is a movie whose dialogue and cinematographic details have to be savored like a fine wine, or at the very least, like the best blood available to middle-aged vampires—which is Type O negative, to be smuggled out of hospital blood banks and paid for with wads of cash. Biting humans is a bit boorish in the twenty-first century, even if one disregards the problem of too many humans harboring microbes and viruses that can make a vampire ill. The two vampires, appropriately named Adam and Eve, are married but spend a lot of time apart to pursue their particular interests and pastimes. The film opens with Eve living in Tangiers where she is at home in a messy apartment cluttered with books from every literary period and in every conceivable language. She speaks all those languages fluently, including Arabic and Japanese, and she can speed-read a book by moving her hand lightly and swiftly over the page.

Adam, however, is of a different intellectual bent. He is a musician living in Detroit who writes hauntingly evocative rock & roll compositions, having evolved away from the classical music that he wrote hundreds of years ago. He claims he gave Schubert the adagio to a symphony without ever expecting acknowledgment, for after all, as their friend Kit (John Hurt) notes, getting the work out there is the most important thing. At this stage in Adam's life, fame no longer interests him anyway, and it would attract too much attention, so he labors alone in a run-down house that is as messy as Eve's, and he is nostalgic for the hard rock of the sixties and early seventies. With the help of a human acquaintance (Anton Yelchin), who gets paid handsomely for his services, Adam collects vintage guitars from the acid rock era. He rarely leaves his house except for the odd trip to the hospital to pick up a fresh supply of blood from the bribed doctor who helps him (Jeffrey Wright). Adam always wear tight black pants, T-shirts and a leather jacket, and has dark hair hanging in his eyes. Eve sports a thick head of long white hair that makes her blonder than blond, a beautiful albino. They can only go out at night and even under tungsten lighting, they wear stylish sunglasses. They are slender, elegant, and attractive—looking like a very hip couple who somehow survived the drug-addicted sixties with their personal style and their political philosophy intact. Together, after Eve leaves Tangier to join Adam in Detroit, they exude power and a high-voltage kind of energy.

Things get complicated when Eve's little sister (Mia Wasikowska), an impulsive and reckless vampire, shows up for a visit. Because of her intrusion, Adam and Eve are forced to abandon the safety of Adam's reclusive life in Detroit. They flee back to Tangier, where they find their precious blood is in short supply, forcing them for the first time since the fifteenth century to consider more radical forms of procurement. This low-level plot, however, is not the point of the film. Adam and Eve are observers of human behavior and are far superior to the average human in intelligence and wisdom, as well as bereft of all ego because having lived for 500 years means that their greatest achievements are behind them, and they have nothing left to prove. Instead, they are scholars of art history, music, literature, and architecture. With hands so sensitive that they have to remain encased in gloves, Eve can tell the age of an object merely by touching it. Their running commentary, always caustic and ironic, shows shrewd insight into the complicated nature of human nature. They are fine connoisseurs of antiques and historic buildings, taking great pleasure in admiring the craftsmanship of the good, old days. They live for the pleasure of the moment, the satisfaction of drinking only the best blood, the odd creative project for which they cannot take credit, and the romance of their eternal relationship with each other.

Tilda Swinton is a terrifically blasé vampire who understands intuitively that after 500 years, it's the little things that make life meaningful. Tom Hiddleston is equally brilliant at being droll, although not nearly as cheerful as his wife, and positively depressed, if not suicidal, about the vampiric condition. Their vampiric state is not quite evil or damned, but more like the resignation of aging hippies whose heyday is over and has left them mostly with a lot of memories, anecdotes, and artifacts. Their damnation is more about their jaded pessimism, and their intrinsic understanding that humans have somehow lost their way and cannot evolve or mature, which the couple see so clearly without being able to do anything about it. That, more than anything else, is truly the vision of the damned.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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0

sethvdkJan 9, 2015

This movie was the most pretentious, condescending, boring piece of garbage I've ever seen. I felt like I'd been invited to a party full of misunderstood art-house hipsters desperately trying to out-cool each other. Tom Hiddleston'sThis movie was the most pretentious, condescending, boring piece of garbage I've ever seen. I felt like I'd been invited to a party full of misunderstood art-house hipsters desperately trying to out-cool each other. Tom Hiddleston's performance mostly consists of him lounging on a sofa with his shirt off, strumming a guitar and brooding about how nobody understands his art. It made me want to punch him in his greasy face. How this movie is getting such acclaim is beyond me. There's nothing deep, subtle or thoughtful about it. It just sucks.… Expand

4 of 10 users found this helpful46

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7

foxgroveApr 11, 2014

A simple premise is backed up by a unique interpretation of modern day vampires. The playful screenplay includes dialogue which is often witty or droll and has amusing things to say about the human condition and celebrity. On both theseA simple premise is backed up by a unique interpretation of modern day vampires. The playful screenplay includes dialogue which is often witty or droll and has amusing things to say about the human condition and celebrity. On both these topics it hits more than a few bulls eyes. With their other worldly features both Tom Hiddlestone and Tilda Swinton certainly have the right look and they deliver rich characterisations as the vampire lovers living in seperate dwellings in different countries. Jim Jarmusch's best film to date (I generally dislike his work) is certainly a different take on a tired genre and he allows proceedings to generate charm at a leisurely pace. The production design and music capture the dark milieu creating bags of atmosphere, and the ending is sublime. Be sure to invite this amusingly off beat tale into your life.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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9

MarcDoyleApr 12, 2014

Love the simmering feel of this film - Hiddleston and Swinton are amazing in it. The juxtaposition of the overnight versions of Detroit and Tangiers is inspired. This is my favorite Jarmusch movie since Broken Flowers.

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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10

MovieReviewsApr 12, 2014

Only Lovers Left Alive is not a horror nor a thriller, it a wicked take on the vampire genre. It is melancholic, dreary and gothic, so obviously it is not for everyone. However, the film is beautifully shot, with an outstanding soundtrack andOnly Lovers Left Alive is not a horror nor a thriller, it a wicked take on the vampire genre. It is melancholic, dreary and gothic, so obviously it is not for everyone. However, the film is beautifully shot, with an outstanding soundtrack and wonderful performances from all the actors. Only Lovers Left Alive is one of the best films of the year. It is a must see!… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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6

lasttimeisawNov 10, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Jarmusch’s latest offering is a tall tale of the nocturnal vampires when immortality overkills, one pair of centuries-old vampires, Eve (Swinton) and Adam (Hiddleston) resides in Tangier and Detroit respectively, reunites to brave themselves in the dismal of human race’s sovereign (in the fanged’s term, we are called “zombies”) since Adam is referred as “a suicidal romantic scoundrel”.

continue reading my review on my blog: google cinema omnivore, thanks… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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10

GinaKApr 27, 2014

Best film I have seen this year so far, but not your usual horror movie. Jarmusch’s vampires are relatively satisfied with their lives in their languid way, and you really feel for them – as vampires. Have you ever wondered whatever happenedBest film I have seen this year so far, but not your usual horror movie. Jarmusch’s vampires are relatively satisfied with their lives in their languid way, and you really feel for them – as vampires. Have you ever wondered whatever happened to Adam and Eve and Christopher Marlowe? You can find out in this film. The actors were all completely believable, and the atmosphere of living by night was perfect. The film was also very witty and had great music. I actually felt invigorated after this film and they weren’t selling blood in the lobby.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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3

raporgiJan 8, 2015

Avoid this movie! I really like the actors and they are wasted on this farce of a movie. Nothing happens in the movie, the third act is total sh*t after another character f&cks things up for our vampires. And when I say nothing happens,Avoid this movie! I really like the actors and they are wasted on this farce of a movie. Nothing happens in the movie, the third act is total sh*t after another character f&cks things up for our vampires. And when I say nothing happens, there's just nothing to see.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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1

nima1990Jun 30, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Furst of all, Tilda Swinton is 53, Tom Hiddleston is 33. The age difference is 20 years. There is no chemistry between them and Tilda is too old for Tom. Adam and Eve?! Come on! This is stupid. Soundtrack is good. I give one score to that. Eva is a really stupid character with a vague background story. To me Kit was just a drug dealer that reminded me of the dragon in Adventures of Merlin, nothing more. I really wonder why these troll reviewers gave this film such high scores. The ending was also meaningless. The dialogs lacked wit and intelligence. Chracters were boring and unlikable. The story falls flat and the ending is stupid. The way they attack that couple and show fangs is really cheesy and cheap. Adam is an annoying character. The two vampires are supposedly wise because of the old age and immortality but they just look like two stoners looking for drugs. They are everything but wise. This could be a 15 minute shorf film, and turn out ok but for a long feature film it was a drag and the most idiotic vampire movie. Twilight is awful and this movie makes that stand out. A piece of advice: don't bother watching this movie.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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10

trance23Apr 29, 2014

Simultaneously haunting and whimsical, this is no ordinary vampire film, As a longtime fan of Jim Jarmusch's work, I find it ironic that his liveliest and most human film is about the undead.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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8

Venomq7May 15, 2014

A very powerful romance story about two immortal lovers who's intellect, art and love for simple everyday small things helps you grasp boring one-way life, until they taste the forbidden fruit and restart everything.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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2

Demonix74Oct 25, 2014

If you go in assuming this is a horror movie with scares and jumps (like I did) you are in for a big disappointment. This movie has NONE of that.

What this movie is, is a very slow...very dull movie about an old vampire couple who overIf you go in assuming this is a horror movie with scares and jumps (like I did) you are in for a big disappointment. This movie has NONE of that.

What this movie is, is a very slow...very dull movie about an old vampire couple who over appreciate antiquities...and really do not follow most of the rules regarding vampires. Blood seems to get them buzzed or high? And this is the first movie where I watched 2 vampires struggle to get a dead body into a car trunk.

At any rate, it's over 2 hours long. It's slow, not much happens as a drama. Nothing at all happens as a horror movie.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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8

ClaireKJan 22, 2015

Mia W. totally steals every scene she's in. Amazing actor. Nice film if you can get past the clichés and predictability. I liked it. Beautifully shot.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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10

allan_dzMar 12, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Jim Jarmusch achieves excellence in Only Lovers Left Alive. This is the most romantic movie made in decades; Jarmusch truly understands how love is expressed in its most pure form. Adam and Eve are two vampire lover, who live apart, they both understand the world in a different way, but this means that they complete each other; there cannot exist one without another, but this has nothing to do with being physically together, it is more about what do they talk and how much they need to communicate. Jarmusch´s cinematography is about contemplation, about creating a world where the most beautiful things are there for you to find them in details. The music composed by SQÜRL band where Jarmusch´s band is sublime, it rounds up the whole underground-intellectual vibe of the movie. Finally Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddelston understood exactly what Jarmusch was creating and took acting to another level.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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7

TVJerryJun 22, 2014

Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston play centuries-old vampires in this arty muse on the genre. Don't expect any of the horror or bloody tropes, these are accomplished intellectuals who get their blood from antiseptic sources. Guess I shouldTilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston play centuries-old vampires in this arty muse on the genre. Don't expect any of the horror or bloody tropes, these are accomplished intellectuals who get their blood from antiseptic sources. Guess I should mention that it was written/directed by Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog, Mystery Train, Down by Law) who brings his low-key, off-kilter skills to the film. It's attractively shot, a somewhat fascinating approach and features Swinton, who's always wonderful. On the other hand, it moves at a snails pace and spends a lot of time in anemic ruminations. Unique but tedious.… Expand