Sunday, February 09, 2014

Byzantium

This evening I watched the film Byzantium. I must admit it was a better film than I was expecting it to be. I don't think reviews like "Twilight for grownups" really help a film because it just creates more prejudice than a film deserves. The photography was lovely in this film and the score really helped too. The piano pieces in the film were really evocative but I don't know if they were original or taken from classical music history. There was a strong sense of Victorian horror throughout the film and the modern day setting really worked well. Gemma Arterton's accent is so great, she gives a wonderful performance, so too does her co-star Saoirse Ronan although I have no idea how to pronounce it!
The story centres around the mother (Clara, played by Gemma Arterton) and daughter (Ella), who have eternal youth, but who live as sisters. Living off prostitution the Clara provides for them both but after living a couple hundred years of prostitution and never settling down Ella is tired and wants a change. She meets a boy (Frank), who is attending the same writing course. The lecturer sets an essay titled "I am", which she decides is the way to tell Frank her story as a way of declaring her love. The story is then told through a combination of her written piece and what happens in the modern day after Frank hands the story in to the lecturer. Things then begin to unravel.
It's a wonderful film that I have no trouble recommending.

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