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Movies & TV News & Features

Byzantium

BYZANTIUM (Neil Jordan, UK). 118 minutes. Saturday (September 15), 9 pm, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. See times. Rating: NNNN


With Twilight almost over, we’re not exactly hungering for more vampire movies, but Neil Jordan gives us something to savour with Byzantium, his second bite at the genre.

In his dark, brooding and sensual return, Jordan trades the Cruise-Pitt combo (as bachelors on the prowl in Interview With The Vampire) for Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan playing women on the run. Arterton’s Clara is the more seasoned vamp, unafraid to work as a prostitute and quick to devour any pimp in her way. Meanwhile, Ronan’s Eleanor is forever trapped at a pubescent age, clutching at notebooks to scribble down emo thoughts that have plagued her for 200 years.

Giving life to their undead characters, the two actors are terrific, especially Arterton, whose Clara has a youthful vibrancy but also a seen-it-all ruthlessness as she oscillates between guardian and predator.

Jordan occasionally gets bogged down in a convoluted backstory but manages to navigate his way through, always keeping the film’s clever gender-based themes at the forefront. He also serves up a visual feast, with a rich palette splashing neon hues on deep reds and pitch blacks.

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