That was an excellent one.

Let's be realistic.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Worth at least 8! as now 6.5, ridiculous.The cast, story , picture is great.It is a bit slow but that is very appropriate for this movie. When he directed Interview wt a vamp, it was a different story and take of the vampires.This director is amazing.It seem the vast majority of his work is great.

its basic virtue - to remind the flavor, force, game of dark and light of old Gothic stories. to propose a theme with subtle, precise use of nuances. to have the perfect actors for a trip on the bridge between present and past. to propose the right solutions and to ignore, in wise manner, the frontier between bad and good. one of films who reminds not exactly the rules of a genre but a rich tradition who, in the last two decades, was , in many senses, with many occasions, ignored. references to myths and legends. atmosphere of XIX century and slices from contemporary educational system. and Saoirse Ronan doing an impressive role. not the least - a smart use of cliché. who saves even the predictable end and propose an interesting way to a popular trend.

Since seeing his Neo-Noir work get praised on IMDb's Film Noir board,and also catching clips of 1999's The End of the Affair,I've been meaning to take a look at director Neil Jordan's work,but have for some reason have never found the perfect moment.Joining an event being held on IMDb's Film Festival page,I was delighted to find that one of the titles chosen for the event was Jordan's latest title,which led to me getting ready to visit Byzantium.The plot:Angering a vampire group called the Brethren,mum and daughter vampires Eleanor & Clara Webb attempt to avoid the Brethren by staying hidden in the shadows.Feeling agitated over Clara's demands to keep her vampire life secret,Eleanor begins writing and telling people about her "past life",which leads to Clara's having to kill the humans who find out their secrets.Getting sacked from her job as a stripper,Clara becomes a prostitute.Showing some empathy towards a client called Noel.Clara uses her vampire seduction skills to get Noel to let her and Eleanor stay in a hotel that his mum ran called Byzantium.Arriving at the hotel,Clara starts to turn the hotel into a brothel,as Eleanor starts to step out of her mums blood-drenched shadow.View on the film:Left sitting on the shelf for 2 years after filming,director Neil Jordan & cinematographer Sean Bobbitt stop the movie from appearing dusty by wrapping it in stylised brooding elegance. Transferring each line in Eleanor's "life story" onto the screen,Jordan and Bobbitt dip the film into silk Gothic Melodrama,with the flashbacks spanning the beautiful high seas and mountains on Ireland,which are joined by an earthy, bruised crimson which unveils the pain and torment that Clara suffered during her vampire "birth." Getting between Clara & Eleanor for the "present",Jordan brilliantly uses eye-catching tracking shots to subtly display the gap developing between the Clara and Eleanor. Bringing Clara onto the screen with a fantastic strip club dance,Jordan unleashes bubbling Gothic Horror claret across the screen,as the memory of a "river of blood" is revived by Clara trying to keep Eleanor's fangs hidden away in the neon-lit outskirts.Adapting his own play,the screenplay by Moira Buffini gives Clara and Eleanor to distinctive set of fangs,with Clara's long fangs of history allowing Buffini to bite into black comedy with a bloody relish,whilst Eleanor's young fang desire to be a free from her family history allows Buffini to cast a sweeping Gothic romance across the title. Throwing some unlucky humans to the girls,Buffini pulls up the Gothic Horror veins by giving the troubled mother/daughter relationship between Eleanor & Clara a tense,fragile atmosphere,as Eleanor tries to enter adulthood whilst also fighting with Clara over how a vampire should be.Looking stunning in her stripper entrance, Gemma Arterton gives an excellent performance as Clara,with Arterton dressing Clara in Punk leather,whose deadly off-the-cuff remarks are a taster to Clara's deep red fangs. Attempting to rebel against her own rebellious mother,the elegant Saoirse Ronan impressively keeps Eleanor away from appearing sappy,thanks to Ronan giving Eleanor a firm, determined bite,as Clara and Eleanor enter Byantium.

When I watched this movie it made me feel almost hypnotized. It was beautiful and written very well. The cast was great! I can't express how amazing this film was to me. The locations were beautiful. Saoirse Ronan was timeless and beautiful. Caleb Landry Jones was awesome and I loved his character. I think Neil Jordan did a great job with this film. The writing was well done and I felt close to the story. I really loved the soundtrack as well. I can definitely say that its a great vampire classic story. I think if you done see this, you maybe missing out. I hope that everyone enjoys it as well. I hope that you are captured like I was.