Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

A depressed musician reunites with his lover. Though their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writers:

Jim Jarmusch, Marion Bessay (adaptation)

Stars:

Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska

9 wins & 44 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tilda Swinton	...	Eve
Tom Hiddleston	...	Adam
Anton Yelchin	...	Ian
Mia Wasikowska	...	Ava
Jeffrey Wright	...	Dr. Watson
Slimane Dazi	...	Bilal
John Hurt	...	Christopher Marlowe
Carter Logan	...	Scott
Aurélie Thépaut	...	Flight Attendant
Ali Amine	...	Taxi Driver, Detroit
Dave W.	...	White Hills
Ego Sensation	...	White Hills
Nick Name	...	White Hills
Fouad El Achaari	...	Man on Street, Tangier
Hawchi Mustapha	...	Man on Street, Tangier

Storyline

Set against the romantic desolation of Detroit and Tangiers, an underground musician, deeply depressed by the direction of human activities, reunites with his resilient and enigmatic lover. Their love story has already endured several centuries at least, but their debauched idyll is soon disrupted by her wild and uncontrollable younger sister. Can these wise but fragile outsiders continue to survive as the modern world collapses around them?

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | musician | tangier morocco | abandoned city | detroit michigan | 

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Taglines:

Cool people never die

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bar where White Hills plays is on Jefferson Avenue, just southwest of Dearborn Street in Delray, one of the most devastated areas of Detroit, Michigan. It was a functioning bar called "Ideal" until 1986 when it closed. It was built in Art Deco style. The Zug Island steel mill can be seen behind the bar to the right, in the exterior shot.

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Goofs

There is no way to get from the USA (Detroit or Chicago) to Spain (Madrid) only flying at night. The flight will take at least 8 hours and will cross 5 time-zones into the east towards sunrise. So night would take at least 13 hours.

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Quotes

Adam: You drank Ian!
Ava: Sorry!

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Connections

References Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

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Soundtracks

Hal
Co-published by Kwaidan Publishing.
Composed, Written, Produced and Performed by Yasmine Hamdan
Licensed courtesy of Kwaidan Records

User Reviews

There's really nothing new anyone can say about vampires, not even Jim Jarmusch, but this is still a fairly entertaining movie

This has been heralded as a return to form for Jarmusch but, frankly, I liked his last two films a lot better. The big problem here is that there is absolutely nothing left to say about Vampires. Jarmusch just uses the genre to create a gorgeous mood piece, but it's hard to deny the fact that we've seen it all before. Really, the plot here is almost identical to Xan Cassavetes' 2012 film Kiss of the Damned. Much like that film, Only Lovers Left Alive tries to spice of the genre with artiness, and it succeeds (as did Kiss of the Damned) up to a point. Really, Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are so engaging the film comes off pretty good. Swinton's awesome hairdo alone makes the film worth watching. I am a little perturbed that Jarmusch glamorizes heroin chic in this film - the vampires are very rock-star like and, when they drink blood, it's depicted very much like heroin use. And it's depicted quite romantically. Tom Hiddleston's music even sounds like The Velvet Underground (I found it hilarious when characters tell him how brilliant his work is). The film co-stars John Hurt, Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska and Jeffrey Wright. Wright's scenes with Hiddleston are by far the highlight of the film.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK Germany Greece France

Language:

English French Arabic Turkish

Release Date:

25 December 2013 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Only Lovers Left Alive

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$87,989, 13 April 2014

Gross USA:

$1,879,534

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,609,187

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Pandora Filmproduktion, Snow Wolf Produktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1 Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1