Byzantium (film)

Byzantium
Promotional poster
Directed by	Neil Jordan
Produced by	Sam Englebardt William D. Johnson Elizabeth Karlsen Alan Moloney Stephen Woolley
Written by	Moira Buffini
Starring	Saoirse Ronan Gemma Arterton Sam Riley Jonny Lee Miller
Music by	Javier Navarrete
Cinematography	Sean Bobbitt
Editing by	Tony Lawson
Distributed by	StudioCanal
Release dates	9 September 2012 (2012-09-09) (Toronto Film Festival) 31 May 2013 (2013-05-31) (United Kingdom)[1] 28 June 2013 (2013-06-28) (United States)[2]
Running time	118 minutes
Country	Ireland United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	£8 million[3]
Box office	$85,252 (US only)[4][5]

Byzantium is a 2012 British-Irish fantasy thriller film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, and Jonny Lee Miller. The story concerns a mother and daughter vampire duo. This is the third foray by Jordan into the world of the undead, following the poorly received High Spirits in 1988 and his Oscar-nominated Interview with the Vampire, in 1994.

Plot

The film begins with an old man picking up a discarded note dropped by teenage vampire Eleanor Webb (Ronan), who has taken to writing her life story and throwing them to the wind. Realising what she is, the old man invites Eleanor to his house, and tells her that he is ready for death. Eleanor proceeds to kill him and consume his blood. Elsewhere, Eleanor's mother, Clara (Arterton), is chased from the strip club where she has been working by Werner, a member of the vampiric Brethren, who demands to know where Eleanor is. Clara decapitates Werner, burns his body and leaves town with her daughter.

Eleanor and Clara seek sanctuary in a dilapidated coastal resort. There, Clara sets her sights on a lonely soul named Noel (Daniel Mays), who has just inherited the Byzantium Hotel, a once-thriving business that has fallen into disrepair. Meanwhile, Eleanor plays the piano in a restaurant and is approached by a young waiter named Frank (Jones), who takes a shine to her. Having seduced Noel, Clara turns the Byzantium into a makeshift brothel and Eleanor joins the local college which Frank attends. Interested in her past, Frank questions Eleanor, who writes her story for him to read.

The story begins during the Napoleonic Wars, when a young Clara encounters Captain Ruthven and Darvell. Much to the dismay of Darvell, Clara leaves with Ruthven, who forces her into prostitution. When Eleanor is born, Clara leaves her daughter at the local private orphanage to spare her life, and secretly visits her at night. Years later, Clara is dying of what appears to be tuberculosis when the brothel is visited by Darvell, who has become a vampire. He gives Captain Ruthven a map to an island where people can become vampires if they are willing to die. Clara shoots Captain Ruthven in the foot, steals the map and becomes a vampire. The Brethren, a secret society of vampires which protects the island, are appalled that a woman has joined their ranks, but decide to spare her life, warning her to never create another vampire. Shortly after, Clara witnesses an enraged Captain Ruthven arriving at Eleanor's orphanage and taking her away. Realising he is looking for revenge, she follows him down to the basement and brutally murders him, but she is too late, as Ruthven has raped Eleanor, infecting her with an STD he was carrying and committing her to a slow, painful death. Desperate to save her daughter's life, Clara takes Eleanor to the island and has her transformed into a vampire, violating the Brethren's code. The Brethren begin hunting Clara and Eleanor.

Back in the present day, Eleanor has fallen in love with Frank and decides to help him turn into a vampire so they can be together, since he will otherwise die from leukemia. Clara finds out that Eleanor has told Frank of their past and decides to kill him. In the scuffle to subdue Eleanor, Noel is killed. While Clara is out dealing with Frank, the Brethren find out from Eleanor's teacher where she is and go to kill her. Clara leaves without killing Frank when she realises that Eleanor is in mortal danger. The Brethren kidnap Eleanor and drive her to an abandoned location with the intent to destroy her, only to be stopped by Clara. The leader of the Brethren, Savella, battles Clara and ultimately subdues her. Savella hands Darvell his sword so he can kill Clara. However, Darvell, who has always harboured feelings for Clara, decides at the last minute to spare her and kills Savella instead. Darvell leaves with Clara and Eleanor takes Frank to the island so he can become a vampire.

Cast

• Saoirse Ronan as Eleanor Webb
• Gemma Arterton as Clara Webb
• Sam Riley as Darvell
• Jonny Lee Miller as The Captain
• Daniel Mays as Noel
• Caleb Landry Jones as Frank
• Maria Doyle Kennedy as Morag
• Warren Brown as Gareth
• Thure Lindhardt as Werner

Release

The film premiered at the Irish Film Institute on 28 April 2013 with director Neil Jordan in attendance.^[6] It also received a red carpet screening in Hastings on 5 June 2013.^[7]

The film was shown at the Glasgow Film Festival in February 2013 with Neil Jordan and Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton in attendance.^{[citation needed]}

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2013, and received a limited release in North America on 28 June 2013.^[4]

Reception

Byzantium received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 62% based on reviews from 102 critics, with an average rating of 6.4.^[8] Metacritic gives the film a "generally favorable" score of 66% based on reviews from 22 critics.^[9]

References

External links

• Byzantium at the Internet Movie Database
• Filmed in Hastings (UK) – http://www.famouslyhastings.com/visit/byzantium/