Byzantium is a 2013 British-Irish fantasy/thriller vampire film starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, and Jonny Lee Miller.
Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) and Clara (Gemma Arterton), two mysterious and penniless young women arrive in a run-down coastal resort. They try to find money and refuge and Clara soon meets shy and lonely Noel, who provides a roof over their heads in his seedy guesthouse, Byzantium. Meanwhile Eleanor, the eternal schoolgirl, meets Frank (Caleb Landry Jones), a kindred spirit who unwittingly prompts her to tell the truth about her life.
In the small, quiet town, people start to die. And the past that the girls have been running from for so long, finally catches up with them – with astonishing consequences.
Byzantium Reviews
“…With a magnetic performance from Saoirse Ronan, a surprisingly excellent performance from Gemma Arterton, and a deliciously peculiar spin on familiar lore, "Byzantium” is a refreshing take on vampires and the most stimulating film on the subject since Park Chan-wook's “Thirst” and Tomas Alfredson's “Let the Right One In.” Examiner
“The movie is gorgeous, mesmerizing, poetic; the lyricism actually heightened by harsh jets of gore.” New York Magazine
“Neil Jordan's Byzantium—its script by Irish-born playwright Moira Buffini—is more in league with Joss Whedon's cerebral, passionate Buffy the Vampire Slayer series than with the fangless Twilight universe…Byzantium isn't Jordan's first movie about bloodsuckers—that would be 1994's Interview with the Vampire—but it's the right vampire movie for today, poetic and elegant in an artfully tattered way.” Village Voice
“Jordan’s poetic sensibilities more than make up for any flaws. His uncanny aptitude for conjuring up resonantly metaphorical images — from a pointed fingernail pushing toward a vein to a waterfall turning into a literal river of blood — proves there’s plenty of life left in this undead genre.” Time Out New York
“The joke seems to be that in 2013, it’s hard to teach an old bloodsucker new tricks. Still, Byzantium has a few moves that might surprise you. They have nothing to do with blood, but everything to do with the heart.” Washington Post
“Byzantium is a beautifully shot film that effectively dissects the mother-daughter relationship in a naturalistic style, while also building to a powerful conclusion. Highly recommended!” Dread Central
“..Sort of a slice of old-school Anne Rice with a lovely array of Irish ingredients, the smart and stylish Byzantium comes from director Neil Jordan, a filmmaker who has always treated horror like a first-class genre…Clara is a particularly fascinating character; at one moment she's every bit the super-sexy killer vampiress we see in comic books, and in the next scene she's a deeply devoted mother who will shred anyone who threatens her daughter. Young Eleanor is sort of the opposite: somehow still sweet and decent after decades of undead misery, the eternally blossoming teenager seems forever poised between innocence and depravity. And since she's played so darn well by Ms. Ronan, there are actually some stakes here. Both actresses are great, plain and simple..Additional assets include excellent cinematography from Sean Bobbitt, whether he's focusing on gorgeous Irish hills or grungy city streets; a few colorful supporting performances from guys like Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller, Caleb Landry Jones and Tom Hollander; and a narrative structure that seems odd at first but gradually reveals some admirable cleverness. Byzantium is basically 2/3rds "vampire stuff” you've seen before, a few new ideas that actually work, two great performances, and a lot of skilled veterans behind the camera. So while I (and most horror fans) are still annoyed and irritated at those goofy Twilight movies, there's a silver lining: some people still know how to make movies about young vampires, and now they're able to." FEARnet.com