This film is well written, well directed, well acted, incredibly beautiful in its scenery and cinematography and always tasteful, despite some of its motifs being sensational. Please note also that this unusual vampire movie has been released before Jim Jarmusch's sophisticated Only Lovers Left Alive.The film (and in first line the play it is based upon, I suppose) not only has a consistent and beautifully told storyline; it shows a deep knowledge of the cultural tradition it deals with. It is no coincidence that the origins of the nowadays story take place 200 years ago (and not, for example, 300 or 400 years). The early 19th century was a heyday of gothic novels, neogothic castles and gardens - and the very period where the cultural myth of the vampires took its beginning. It was later but still in the 19th century when Victor Hugo published his novel Les Miserables upon which one of the main themes and storylines of the film are based. Not to mention the allusions to Stoker (whose Dracula begins on the seaside) and Lovecraft. So the Gothic feel which this movie has to it makes perfect sense in terms not only of atmosphere but of its themes, too. I knew Saoirse Ronan was an outstanding actress from the moment I first saw her in Lovely Bones. She has a charisma which makes it literally impossible to draw one's eyes off her. All of the other actors were also just perfectly cast. Gemma Arterton (and the contrast between her character and that of Saoirse Ronan) is great, and Caleb Jones (whom I had never seen before) is a perfect match for Ronan's character. And, oh my goodness, how beautiful the cinematography is. The green dress of Arterton on the misty sea-coast or the red hood of Ronan above the bloody handkerchief remind of the Preraphaelite artists. The music score suits the film perfectly, it is so full of melancholy and longing.Please, please, can we have more movies like this??

Worth at least 8! as now 6.5, ridiculous.The cast, story , picture is great.It is a bit slow but that is very appropriate for this movie. When he directed Interview wt a vamp, it was a different story and take of the vampires.This director is amazing.It seem the vast majority of his work is great.

Either you expect an on- screen Gothic novel or From Dusk Till Dawn, this movie has nothing to do with the latter and very little in common with the former. I liked it, but it is a slow, pensive piece of cinema, and definitely less horror-like than you may think. There is a lot of poetry and melancholy- a good deal of despair, too. Saoirse Ronan' s Eleanor Webb is perhaps the sweetest, most courageous and compassionate creature of her kind I have ever seen. Much of the story is about love, solitude, and the struggle to bear the burden of a secret that haunts you, stealing from you every freedom, every hope for love or even domestic peace. The photography is neat, the music hypnotic- some scenes a real pleasure to the sight. The actors are good- all of them. At the end, I was left in a haze of sweet sadness, with many questions and lots of ideas in my head. It might be neither perfect nor a classic within the genre, but Byzantium certainly gifts its spectator with something magic and unique: imaginative worlds to explore, even after credits have faded on the screen. Watch it when you have time, when you can simply sit down and enjoy the story her protagonist wants to tell you. Consider it a crooked, dark, yet delicate fairy tale.

Neil Jordan's Byzantium stars Gemma Arterton and Saorise Ronan as two-hundred year-old mother and daughter vampires who are trying to survive in an English coastal town. They're on the lam after the mother, Clara, played by Arterton, falls foul of her strip club employees and kills a mysterious man whom she is pursued by in a thrilling chase near the start of the film. On the coastal town, a series of flashbacks offer insight into the story of these two girls, telling how they became undead and revealing the source of Clara's fears and paranoia. Eleanor, her daughter, wants to tell their story and cannot contain her thoughts, so endeavours to write her experiences down on paper. When her sanity and safety is questioned by a college lecturer, danger and panic ensues along with their past catching up. This is a vampire film that establishes some of its own rules and avoids many of the known tropes of the genre. Daylight isn't a problem for these creatures, whilst, in place of fangs, a talon-like thumbnail is used to pierce the wrists of willing participants or be throttled into the necks of victims and foes. A novel approach, although the film is too self-aware on occasions, but is played entirely straight and with much style and atmosphere. Arterton is terrific here, impressing once again with an assertive, sexy performance, which plays in contrast to the soft-spoken Ronan, whose Eleanor is gentle and introspective. The primary cast is small, but also includes Jonny Lee Miller, seen in flashback as syphilitic creep, whose actions are pivotal to the story. Daniel Mays, as a grief- stricken sap, whom Clara plays on for her and Eleanor's benefit. And Caleb Landry Jones, as a young waiter whom Eleanor befriends. At times, this is an invigorating and exciting film, although it's free of genuine scares. The blood does flow thick and occasionally fast, with the emphasis on mood and the telling of an intriguing story emphasised over creating scares. Unfortunately, this is dashed by a slightly contrived and obvious climax that works, if only just. Byzantium does some new things for the vampire film, but won't be considered revolutionary or pivotal in doing so. Whilst it's unlikely to find the audience numbers of the Twilight films or more generic crowd-pleasers. But this is a worthwhile and involving film that suffers a few plot holes too many, but is largely satisfying. Especially with such fine performances by the two splendid female leads.