Mikes Film Talk

The 2012 vampire horror film Byzantium is a practically perfect Irish horror offering. It ticks all the boxes, each “t” is crossed and “i” dotted. The film fires on all cylinders. This 2012 movie could have been titled Perfection. Director Neil Jordan is red hot here and he impresses easily.

This Irish horror tale is a dark “Mary Poppins,” in other words “practically perfect in every way.” The melancholic vampire story leaves the fangs and the long cloaks behind. It follows Eleanor Webb and her mother Clara through a journey of discovery for the eternally young Ellie. As well as her mother.

Byzantium is a dark, slow, melodic tale that moves through time and distance to mesmerize the viewer.

The Story

Byzantium starts with Eleanor writing her life story page by page. She then crumples the pages into a ball and throws them into the wind. An old man has been collecting the pages and he calls to her. Later, she kills him by drinking his blood. At roughly the same time, her mother Clara aka Claire is working as a lap dancer. Her place of employment is in a seedy club downtown.

She’s fired for stealing a customer’s wallet. Claire then assaults him. A man is following her. He tells her that he has been looking for her for a long time. She kills him and later comes back with Eleanor to burn the place and his corpse. The two move to another town, a seaside town, where Eleanor says they have been before.

Byzantium moves backward and forward as Eleanor recounts her life. She compulsively writes and rewrites her story. Throwing the tale away until she gives it to a new friend, Frank (Jones) who is dying of Leukemia. The 200 year-old teenager meets Frank at a hotel dining room. There she is playing the piano and he “passes the hat” for her. “Are you busking?” he asks her before she leaves. He later gives her the collected cash and she runs off.

By The Sea

Clara meets a lonely man down by the seaside arcade and she charges him £50 for a “blowy.” Clara invites herself and Eleanor back to his place. It is a sort of bed and breakfast that his mother owned before she died. Clara sets the place up as a bordello to help Noel get out of debt. Eleanor’s story about becoming a vampire reveals that her mother started out as a whore. She was set off in that life by Capt. Ruthven .

Eleanor and Clara settle in the seaside town. Meanwhile two men are searching for them. Darvell and Savella they look like police but are from Clara’s past. These two have searching for the two female vampire for centuries.

Eleanor’s mother with her twisted tale of creation is horrid. She is first a whore then a vampire in this Dickensian tale. A chance meeting while gathering cockles turns the young Clara’s life upside down. She begins her dark journey after one military officer gives her a pearl. Another takes her virginity.

The Cast

Gemma Arterton is Clara.

Saoirse Ronan is Eleanor.

Sam Riley is Darvell.

Johnny Lee Miller is Ruthven.

Caleb Landry Jones is Frank.

Uri Gavriel is Savella.

*Side Note: Arterton holds her own against Ronan, who narrates the film. If ever there was any doubt that this “Bond girl” could act, this film proves it.*

Not Traditional

Byzantium has very nontraditional vampires. These monsters are not created by the classic exchange of blood. In this world a demon is searched out on a bleak island. There are no fangs, instead a long almost tear shaped thumbnail makes the necessary incisions. The vampires can walk in the daylight and are not cold to the touch. Both Eleanor and Clara are the only female vampires in the world. They are hunted not by a version of Van Helsing but by male vampires.

At just over two hours this film should drag but it does not. It is a delight to watch and the cinematography is addictive. Sean Bobbitt gives the viewer exquisitely framed shots and uses lighting to accentuate every scene beautifully.

The Verdict

Byzantium is a 5 star beguiling feature that lures the viewer in and seduces them completely. This is a new favorite. It is worth all 128 minutes spent watching it. The film is available on a number of streaming platforms.

Watch this one and prepare to become addicted.

The Trailer