Disc Reviews

Byzantium Review

• 25th Sep 2013

Neil Jordan’s return to the Vampire mythos is a pleasant surprise.  Although most of the film is set in a present day setting, there are many wonderful flashes back to a more “period costume” time where we see Gemma Arterton’s Clara start her humble beginnings as a peasant girl turned prostitute. It seems that time doesn’t change much for her or her daughter Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan), but live they must, and to do so they must feed.

The differences in approach to living is one of the highlights of the narrative as an apparently wiser Clara takes a no nonsense approach to both feeding as well as surviving through the years, whilst Eleanor has a more empathetic approach.

But their choice in lifestyle is forever interrupted by a group of mysterious figures from their past who seem intent on hunting them down which nicely bridges the narrative leaps back and forth through time. This isn’t a vampire tale for the mushy teen, but definitely for the old romantic.

Anyone longing for a return to a more serious turn on the Vampire mythology, or even just a dark tale that balances some wonderful performances against various dramatic backdrops will be well satisfied with this piece.

Neil Jordan always manages to provide beautiful imagery n all of his films and this one is no exception – proving further that you don’t need a huge budget to make any sort of impression on the mind. Byzantium has a safe place among the cult following for anyone looking for a flm that does thing that much differently from the rest.

Steven Hurst