OVERALL: Wow. What a movie. It is a great concept beautifully executed. This isn’t your typical vampire movie. It is about love and the human condition and taking a long view of history. It is beautiful and moving. I thus name it The Best Vampire Movie Ever Made.
POINTS: Acting, acting, acting. I don’t know if I would have enjoyed this movie as much if lesser actors had taken the roles of Adam and Eve. Tilda Swinton (Eve) and Tom Hiddleston (Adam) have it all: Looks, charisma, acting skill, and talent. They are masterS of their art and it shows. This also means that director/writer Jim Jarmusch knew what he was doing in his casting. Well done sir. Let us add directing and writing to POINTS as well. 🙂
PITFALLS: Hmm…… Well there were a few times during the movie that I thought “As vampires wouldn’t they know better and/or have a backup plan?” A very small pitfall, IMHO.
FEMALE CHARACTER(S): Eve. Oh Eve. Played by Tilda Swinton Eve is pure poetry. Wide-eyed and loving, she is true innocence because for me innocence is not absence of knowledge; innocence is Ann Frank saying “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” THAT is Eve! She sees the despair around her but knows the good will rise too. Where Adam sees decay she sees the potential of rebirth. I like that attitude so I really liked her.
CULTURAL PITFALL(S): Hmm…. Can’t think of any right now. Our vampires did have appreciation for all human talent irregardless of race or gender. That was nice and thus not a pitfall at all.
HIGH POINT(S):
1.) Soundtrack. Holy Toledo Blades the music was amazing! It had it’s own sound and feel that perfectly reflected the characters. Plus some songs even sounded like the character Adam had written them. I purchased it right away. I got mine from Amazon.com. Some of the songs in the movie are not on the soundtrack but are mentioned here on The Playlist.
2.) Erotic. Lots of love scenes in movies try to be sexy and basically fail. They try too by hard showing the mechanics of sex rather than the emotions and feelings of the characters involved. Not so in this movie! Future filmmakers take note. What is erotic in this movie is the intimacy portrayed on the screen. Yes you can tell me that Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are two of the sexiest people alive and I would agree with you. However what is sexy here is that two master actors are portraying their love and passion for each other and THAT is what makes this movie so hotly erotic. Plus the characters treat each other as beloved equals not objects. The eroticism is evident in the movie even when they play chess. Huzzah.
3.) Detroit. My hubby loves Detroit as he lives there in the early ’80s. It is a beautiful powerful city and deserves the same love and respect as New York or Los Angeles. YES! This is the motor city. This is the city that gave us our automobiles and Motown. And I do believe it is a city that will rise again. It was good to see you Detroit. It will be good to see you shine once again. I’m behind you.
4.)Breathing. There were times in the movie when the lovers were sleeping and or close and all you could hear was their breathing. It was very powerful and sounded beautiful. Also at one time Adam listened to Eve’s heart with a stethoscope. That was also cool.
5.) * [SPOILER ALERT] * “You drank Ian.” My favorite line from a movie in a long time. So well delivered. Loved it. * END [SPOILER ALERT] *
BECHDEL TEST (Website): 3 of 3! Though I would argue that 2.5 of 3 would be a bit more accurate as the women don’t have a prolonged conversation. However well done!
RACIAL BECHDEL TEST (Website): Hmmmm…. This is tough but I am going for a 2 of 3! I know yes! This is because there are several PoC characters and when in Tangiers you see them having many conversations with each other however the conversations are in the background and not translated. Still very cool.
IMDB: Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
OFFICIAL MOVIE WEBSITE: Only Lovers Left Alive (Note: This is a Tumblr site.)
DVD/BLU-RAY WORTHY: Yes. In fact I want it now.
LION PAW PRINTS: 3.5 of 5. Hubby loved it too.
Official Movie Trailer:
Chick Flicking Reviews 
I think I’ve already mentioned that this may be my new favorite movie. The DVD comes out in August, and I already have it on pre-order. I’ve seen it 3 times, and I pick up something new every time.
My Tom Hiddleston fangirlyness aside, I think I’m married to an Adam. I was so excited for Brian to see this, if only just to see all the guitars, just because he is so Adam (sometimes to my despair). Now we’re quoting it all the time.
While cooking: “Is that the really good stuff?”
“Just goes to show, we don’t know shit about fungi.”
“You drank Ian.” and
“Are you alone?” “No… I’m with you guys!” I love all of Adam and Ava’s interactions. I also think that Eve is the only reason Adam didn’t kill Ava (he could have, remember the bullet?).
“Adam’s going to take us out!”
“No, Adam is not going to take you out.”
“Eve, you’re ruthless. You’re brutal.”
“I’m a survivor baby!”
The chess scene is my favorite!!
I haven’t liked a movie this much in a long time.
Brian’s still upset about the 1905 Gibson.
Yes, the death of the Gibson was painful. The chess scene is fabulous! And I’m glad you too like “You drank Ian.” LOL and OMG. 🙂
I am glad that Brian liked the movie too.