1. The tone
Byzantium is directed by Neil Jordan, who previously directed both The Company of Wolves (a werewolf movie based on short stories about Red Riding Hood and female sexuality) and one of the best vampire movies of all time, Interview with the Vampire. As many of you know, Interview was the movie I used to "set the bar" for all vampire movies I have watched on this review site. Jordan's directing in that movie is warm and subtle; he does an amazing job of bringing Anne Rice's world to life and giving it a feel all his own. As I mentioned previously, Interview with the Vampire has a class to it that very few other vampire movies have.
At first glance, Byzantium seems like a movie with a very different personality and tone from Jordan's previous work. After all, both The Company of Wolves and Interview with the Vampire were essentially period films full of powdered wigs and ruffled shirts. The tones were ones of warm fires and oil lamps; Byzantium starts with bright tones of neon.
However, Jordan brings his signature gravitas to the film, and, no matter the time period, you never feel like you're watching something "cheap." Though the story is filled with nearly-abandoned carnivals, literal rivers of blood, and prostitution, the themes are handled like high-myth and contemplative literature. Any sex or violence leads to character development or the story; Jordan never allows a tone implying "shock value." Instead, the tone is often subtle and meditative, a slow progression of emotions and characters.
When the story does flash back in time, Jordan's world always feels real and not just a facsimile of the time period. Or if it is a facsimile, it's one done with artistic choice rather than cutting corners on costume and sets. In many ways, the tone is like meeting an old friend, as the pacing, feel, and design of the "historical" scenes is often so much like Interview that it's shocking.
 |
| Lestat is probably just off screen... |
4. The look
Piggybacking on the topic of directing, Jordan's shot choices are amazingly gorgeous. Over and over again I found myself in awe of the prettiness of scenes.
3. The narrative
I haven't seen a vampire story this original in a long time. In many ways, Byzantium may seem very much like Interview with the Vampire in plot: a vampire who is hundreds of years old tells a story about a life full of conflict and darkness. However, there are some key differences. For one, the tale in Byzantium is non-linear. We spend far more time in the contemporary present than in the past in this movie, and the older memories we do get are told in pieces. At one point, we discover that our protagonist doesn't even know the full story, and so another character needs to go back and fill in through her own narration what we have missed.
The other major difference is that the protagonist and main narrator of our story is a girl: specifically, a two hundred year old vampire in a sixteen year old's body.
 |
| Can you tell Jordan likes the Red Hiding Hood story? |
She travels with her mother, who is also her "maker," trying to stay ahead of other mysterious vampires who seem to be trying to kill them. The mother, Clara, tries to provide for her daughter the best she can, but there are clashing values and secrets kept. The outcome is a drastically different story than Interview, though on the surface the basic story is similar. While Lestat and Louise in Interview used aggression and violence to get by, we see that the world for a female vampire like Clara is very different. Like The Company of Wolves, Jordan is able to explore questions of power and sexuality, but in a way which is more nuanced than his earlier film. Between this theme, the interpersonal relationship between the characters, the flashes into the past for how we got to the modern day, and the "thriller" story of other vampires being in pursuit of our protagonists, the movie cannot help but command attention from its audience, even in its many quiet moments.
2. The characters
This story would not be as compelling as it is if it wasn't for fully fleshed out and complicated characters. Movies like Wir Sind Nacht, Kiss of the Damned, Vamps, and The Hunger often take the easy way out and make one vampire character a clear villain in order to contrast with our more morally righteous hero. Jordan could easily have taken a similar route and make Clara our main antagonist. After all, she is more bloodthirsty seeming than her daughter, she doesn't hesitate to kill, and she uses her sexuality to manipulate those around her; she seems almost like the perfect "bad guy" for a vampire film. However, Byzantium takes a much more subtle approach by allowing all characters to be flushed out and understood for who they are.
We learn Clara's background, from when she was a little girl through the present day, and how her life in a brothel was drastically different than the life of her daughter, who was given to a Christian orphanage as a baby. Thus, Clara and her daughter have drastically different world views.
Throughout the movie, every character, human and vampire alike, is given motivation and understanding, which is more than can be said about most films.
1. The lore
After watching vampire and werewolf movies for over a year now, I thought I'd seen every new twist on either supernatural genre. And yet, here is Byzantium with something refreshingly new. First of all, the vampires don't have fangs. Instead, when they have a thirst for blood, their thumbnail extends to a claw-like point. It's a small change, but one which goes a long way in making this film seem unique and new after over 90 years of vampire movies.
The other unique difference between Byzantium's vampires and previous versions is that the making of another vampire requires a special journey to a specific place near Ireland. A small cave in a mountain hosts a mysterious creature or being, which when causes the water running down the mountain to transform into blood and for bats to come rushing out of the cave. Each time this is done in the film, it is stunning. But it is also shockingly different and unique from any other vampire mythos I've seen before.
Byzantium really is a breath of fresh air in a genre which can often seem stale and tedious. I cannot say it enough: this film is highly, highly recommended. Hurry up and go watch it!
Rating: 5 out of 5 bites
No comments:
Post a Comment