Jim Jarmusch's delicious new comedy is a vampire movie unlike any other. It's set in the present but forget those "Twilight" sagas; these are vampires for the art-house crowd, smart, funny and yes, sexy creatures of the night, (the whole film takes place at night; there isn't a single shot in daylight),and I was crazy about them. Indeed Jarmusch has fashioned a masterpiece about a couple of lonely people whose only solace is each other, doomed if you like to be together for all eternity or until one of them gets a stake or a wooden bullet in the heart or drinks some 'bad blood'; (I loved the subtle AIDS metaphor; be careful who you bite). Adam, (tall, dark and sexy Tom Hiddleston),and Eve, (a mesmerizing Tilda Swinton),have been married to each other, several times it would appear, over the centuries but living separate lives, he in Detroit as a reclusive musician, she in Tangier where she has another old vampire for a friend. He is Christopher Marlowe, (yes that Christopher Marlowe),and he's played by John Hurt with a twinkle in his eye. It's when Eve visits Adam in Detroit, flying by night, (in a plane; what did you expect - bat-wings?),that all hell breaks loose in the shapely form of Eve's sexy sister, (a terrific Mia Wasikowska),who can't keep her fangs to herself. As you would expect from Jarmusch this is funny, intelligent and off-the-wall. Hiddleston proves to be a highly dapper comedian while Swinton is superb as Eve, getting all she can out of a life she knows is going to go on forever. Unmissable.

In the abandoned Detroit, the depressed musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston) lives in an old house in the middle of derelict buildings with his musical instruments and books. Adam has been a vampire for centuries but is tired with the fate of the world taken by wrong decisions of mankind. He has a confidentiality agreement with Ian (Anton Yelchin) that provides rare instruments to him and does not ask questions to him. Adam poses of Dr. Faust and buys blood bags from Dr. Watson (Jeffrey Wright) in a nearby hospital. His wife and lover Eve (Tilda Swinton) lives in Tangier, Morocco's, and is also a vampire. Her best friend is "Kit" Marlowe (John Hurt) that supplies blood for her that he buys from a French doctor.

When Eve calls Adam from Tangier, she feels that he is down and she decides to fly to Detroit to meet him. She meets Kit to say good-bye to him and Kit tells Eve that he had a dream with her younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska). Eve and Adam reunite and spend the nights making love. Out of the blue, the wild and reckless Ava comes to Adam's house and turns their lives upside-down.

"Only Lovers Left Alive" is a stylish and original vampire movie with a story of eternal love and music. The plot has no clichés and is developed in slow pace, with charismatic characters, great performances and entertaining dialogs. I dare to say that "Only Lovers Left Alive" is in 2014 what "The Hunger" was in 1983. Fans of gore or conventional vampire movies will probably not like this feature. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Amantes Eternos" ("Eternl Lovers")

Note: On 23 Oct 2018 I saw this film again.

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE is nothing more than an art-house remake of the Anne Rice adaptation QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, done in Jim Jarmusch's inimitable style: i.e. very slow, dragged out, and with zero happening from beginning to end. I should note that I've only previously seen one of Jarmuschs's movies - GHOST DOG: WAY OF THE SAMURAI - which I absolutely loved, but I've avoided the rest for fear they wouldn't appeal to me.

I was right. ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE is everything I hate about the pretentious art-house genre of film-making. This is a supposedly literate and intelligent movie that depicts the lassitude of eternal life and consists of characters lazing around and talking about the historical figures they encountered. This is supposed to impress us; it doesn't. Jarmusch as writer seems to be even lazier than Jarmusch as director, thinking the audience will simply be impressed by his sleek cinematography and claptrap dialogue. They're not.

Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton are the ones foolish enough to sign up for this nonsense, and they're both poor. Hiddleston does his best Lestat impersonation but hides behind his shaggy hair for the most part. Swinton is once again an ethereal presence but adds zero character to that appearance. John Hurt turns up to get his pay cheque, as always, and the likes of Anton Yelchin and Mia Wasikowska are in it so little that it's a wonder they bothered turning up on set. If you like long, drawn-out films of characters lazing around on sofas and having 'intellectual' discussions, then maybe ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE is for you. Me, I couldn't stand it.