Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

I loved this romance between centuries old vampires who've learned to live in the modern world, though I generally dislike vampire movies. Director/writer Jim Jarmusch (I also loved Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Down by Law (1986), Mystery Train (1989), One Night on Earth (1991), Dead Man (1995), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), and Broken Flowers (2005)) is a champion of outsiders, and what better outsiders than those who sleep in the daylight and come out only when it's dark? Tilda Swinton (last blogged in The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Tom Hiddleston (covered in The Avengers in between Thor movies) have a dark chemistry, her paleness and joy contrasting with his darkness and depression, in their roles of Eve and Adam (named not for the bible but for a Mark Twain story, as explained in this shaky video of a film festival interview). Mia Wasikowska (most recently in Albert Nobbs), John Hurt (covered in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Anton Yelchin (last in these pages reprising Chekov in Star Trek Into Darkness) add to the plot, which has a surprising amount of humor. Jarmusch's love of music and music history is woven throughout every scene and speaks to his choice of the motor city as the setting for most of it.

Jack wasn't as enthusiastic as I, but here's what we both liked a lot: the desolate Detroit and Tangier (Morocco) locations including the beautiful but run-down house in which Adam lives; the spectacular set dressing, as Adam is a collector of 20th century technology, including historical guitars, turntables, vinyl records, amps, televisions with rounded screens, and a 1982 Jaguar XJ-S (identified courtesy of the Internet Movie Car Database or imcdb); all the other history; the hipster music; and the ironic jokes.

The moody music by Jozef Van Wissem & SQÜRL is outstanding and can be streamed from this link as well as purchased from most retailers. Rotten tomatoes critics average out at 85 and audiences 81. Check this out at your neighborhood art house and let me know if you concur.