Respecting some of the classic vampire tropes, while also tweaking enough to make it it's own story (daylight doesn't matter, flesh puncturing talons subsitute fangs, and turning into a vampire is re-evisioned as an ancient, selective ritual), Byzantium tells the story of teenager Eleanor (Saorise Ronan) and her mother Clara (Gemma Aterton), two centuries old vampires who move from town to town across England, leaving a trail of corpse's in their wake. Clara pays their way as only she knows how, "on her knees, and on her back", while Eleanor spends her days in isolation, longing for someone to confide her story in. When their past threatens to catch up them, the pair are forced to make decisions about their future.
Byzantium is a slow burn, it's rich and detailed story trickled out slowly over it's 118 minute runtime. The mystery of Eleanor and Clara's conversion to vampirism is at the movie's heart, flashbacks to their life in the 1800's punctuating the present day. Details are dropped when they need to be, keeping the audience invested in the story, despite it's slow pace. There are multiple storylines at play here, from the mysterious brotherhood of vampires pursuing the mother and daughter, and a sweet, but extremely off beat, romance between Eleanor and Caleb Landry Jones' terminally ill Frank. It's a credit to Jordan that he juggles these stories well enough to stop the movie from becoming muddled, but at times some scenes are superfluous, slowing down an already slow movie. It's when these separate story lines finally come together that the pace picks up, leading to a finale, while exciting, lets the movie down. The resolution feels too clean, featuring a 180 character turn that is at odds with the rest of the movie, and doesn't fit the dark tone of the rest of the film. It's a beautifully shot movie, atmosphere bleeding through every frame. There's almost a dream like quality to it, perfectly summed up in a shot of a waterfall turning into a torrent of blood.
Saorise Ronan does a good job as our ever present narrator, bearing her soul from the opening frame. Eleanor is quiet, unassuming, at her core a predator, but one with a code. She has a specific victim, and it really goes a long way to showing the different facets of her character. Eleanor is the perfect contrast to Aterton's brash, outgoing Clara. She oozes sensuality in every scene, using her body to care for her daughter. It's a very strange family dynamic, but the chemistry between the pair makes it work. Beyond the lead pair, only Landy Jones makes an impact, his natural demeanour making this shy, awkard teen memorable. Sam Rielly's Darvell is a non entity. You never believe him as the threat he is built up to be, his character development doesn't really matters because we never really got to know him well enough.
Byzantium isn't the type of movie to just sit down and watch, it demands your time and attention. But give it that, and you will be rewarded with a stunningly beautiful, and interesting take on the well worn vampire genre.
