7.5/10

Dreamy and mesmerizing are the best words used to describe this film starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton as two vampires roaming the earth, and the love story between them that follows. The two lead actors play vampires better than anyone i have seen since John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998). They hate the existence that they live in, but they make the most of every situation. Swinton is very intelligent as she has read thousands of books, and Hiddleston is a 18th century musician who collects vintage instruments. He also uses the Tesla way of running energy through his house.The love story between the two protagonists is something that feels eternal. Their love has lasted for centuries and it shows. They seem incomplete without each other.
I have to speak of the two best things about this movie because they both play IMPORTANT parts in this film. The first is the score. This is a movie that feels like the music never stops. It is mostly instrumental, but it comes in the form of these dark but beautiful pieces that echo off the walls of every scene. I don’t know if a soundtrack has ever been this perfect for a film in terms of generating the kind of feeling that the actors are going for. The second thing is the setting of Detroit. This is absolutely brilliant. It is in Detroit that these characters can go unnoticed and live in silence.The long shots of downtown Detroit play so well with the mood already set by the soundtrack and the characters. As for the vampires, they aren’t violent and there is something i like about that. The film only shows them attack their prey one time, and i am fine with that. It’s expected in too many films that vampires are violent, so it’s nice to go against the cliche. If i have one problem with this film, it’s the pacing. The slow and uneventful periods are what might take someone out of this film. I think to fix this problem they could’ve cut down about 15 minutes in some random script time. A lot of that cut time would be in the beginning because it does get off to a slow start. In comparison to some of the other vampire film lately, this is a beautiful breath of fresh air. Director Jim Jarmusch has created some great characters with his 2005 hit Broken Flowers, but this film i feel is even better than that one. Only Lovers Left Alive shows him venturing into territory that he hasn’t been used to since his mid 90’s days. It’s nice to see the director still has it with a film that pushes characters first and actions second. I recommend this film for anyone who doesn’t mind a slow build. You have to appreciate this film for the relationship and not so much the kinds of actions you are used to seeing in the Vampire genre. Hiddleston and Swinton carry this film to one of the year’s best so far