It's always dicey when an established director goes back to the well for a film, ala R. Scott and Prometheus last year, but Neil Jordan's return to vampire lore with the intriguingly titled Byzantium manages to steer into the skid and come out the other side unfazed. Saorise Ronan is 16 year old Elanor, quiet, meek, always in her own world rather than out making friends, she spends the days scribbling out stories which more than run parallel with her own. Her secret is what keeps this girl locked in her castle, a council estate, whilst her mother, Gemma Arterton looking insanely gorgeous throughout, gets money using her feminine whiles. However, when Elanor heads out to offer an aging man his peace, mother Clara finds the past returning, and soon the two are headed out of town, and far away, although to a place that has long standing history for the both of them. In this new-ish environment, the two will have to make a fresh start, lest their house topple above them.
Although a vampire story at its heart, Byzantium is a wonderful drama about the relationship of a mother and a daughter, and the daughter's attempts to make sense of the world she's in, carefully constructed around this insane and interesting take on the supernatural that has seen more than a little bit of a resurgence in recent years. A little Twilight, a little Let The Right One In, Byzantium is hard to lock in one particular corner, and it doesn't wear any of its influences on its sleeves, rather takes the fascinating step of creating its own laws, and being visually of its own style. It's bold and fresh and makes for exciting viewing in so many ways.
Arterton's performance is truly incredible in this film, full of passion, emotion, strength, the kind of leading turn that reminds us joyfully of why this woman is one of the most exciting actresses at the moment, whilst Ronan's quieter, more introverted performance, whilst not showy, is what the entire film is constructed on. A sinister Jonny Lee Miller pops up from time to time to relish in being truly evil, whilst Sam Riley is interesting as a vampire-type that isn't quite on any side, or at least we can't tell what he's planning throughout.
There is, alas, a bump in the road of this film, with Caleb Landry Jones' performance being slightly off, with an awkward accent and even more awkward body language and line readings, we're never entirely sure what is going on with his character, gawky teen, kid with a secret himself, something more sinister, and it feels wrong in the grand scheme of things.
Shot with a mix of dark mystery and overblown bright clarity, Byzantium could easily have made its visual style overly metaphoric, but rather than that, it feels cleverly underplayed, partly like a bog-standard indie drama set on the coast, partly Malickian, and it leaps between these partial elements when it sees fit, whilst never looking anything less than stunning, even in its simplicity. Whilst the score underpins everything with a quiet unease, a potential for anything to happen whilst never screaming at you about what emotion is playing at any given time, subtle and then some.
The two leads are simply outstanding in what is a bulky yet intriguing drama that deals a lot more with relationships than it does mythic lore and violence, and for that the characterisation is utterly satisfying. Neil Jordan plays it smart, slow, and very focussed, whilst the end becomes a little insane, the film earns that leap with an exceptionally enjoyable build up. Arterton has rarely been better.