Eleanor Webb (Saoirse Ronan) and her mother, Clara (Gemma
Arterton), are vampires. They have been this way for over 200 years. The pair
regularly flees from the pursuit of The Brethren, an all-male secret society of
vampires who seek to destroy the two females for violating their code. Eleanor,
an eternal teenager, writes accounts of her life and throws the pages into the
breeze. Arriving in a coastal town, Clara befriends Noel (Daniel Mays) who has
inherited a dilapidated hotel called Byzantium. Clara, who was forced into
prostitution when she was mortal, sees an opportunity to run a brothel at the
hotel. Meanwhile Eleanor befriends a terminally ill waiter, Frank (Caleb Landry
Jones), who reads her life story…
“Byzantium” is an extremely rare example of original,
creative and beautiful filmmaking. The film firmly establishes Neil Jordan as
one of my all-time favourite directors. He never seems to fail to deliver with
his work, carefully weaving artistry with entertainment without falling into
pretentiousness at one end or selling out at the other. However, before I
discuss how much I feel this film has been criminally overlooked I feel we need
some perspective.
