Byzantium (2012)
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A mother and daughter navigate a dark destiny of vampirism across centuries of history.
The story
In 2010, an old man discovers a note written by a teenage vampire named Eleanor Webb. After Eleanor kills him, her mother Clara rescues her from a group of vampires. The two seek sanctuary in a dilapidated coastal resort, where Clara attempts to establish a business while Eleanor attends a local college. As Eleanor begins to write her life story for a local waiter, the narrative reveals a tragic history spanning back to the Napoleonic Wars, involving a secret society of vampires and a desperate quest for immortality.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The story begins during the Napoleonic Wars when Clara is raped by Captain Ruthven and later leaves her daughter Eleanor in an orphanage. Years later, Clara is visited by Midshipman Darvell, a vampire, who gives her a map to an island where humans can become vampires. Clara travels there and joins the Brethren, a secret society of vampires. However, she is eventually banished. When Ruthven later rapes Eleanor in the orphanage, Clara murders him but is too late to save Eleanor from a slow death. Desperate, Clara takes Eleanor to the island and transforms her into a vampire, violating the Brethren's code. In the 21st century, Eleanor falls in love with a human man named Frank, who is dying of leukaemia, and intends to turn him. Meanwhile, the Brethren hunt them down. After a series of confrontations involving the hotel and the Brethren's leader Savella, Darvell kills Savella to protect Clara. The film ends with Clara and Darvell on the run, while Eleanor takes a weakened Frank to the island to complete his transformation.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 118
- Production countries
- Ireland; United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Neil Jordan
- Writers
- Moira Buffini · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Saoirse Ronan · Eleanor Webb; Gemma Arterton · Clara Webb; Sam Riley · Midshipman Darvell; Jonny Lee Miller · Captain Ruthven; Daniel Mays · Noel; Caleb Landry Jones · Frank; Tom Hollander · Kevin; Maria Doyle Kennedy · Morag
- Genres
- Gothic horror; fantasy; horror thriller
- Themes
- Mother-daughter relationships; History; Folklore; Feminist spirit
- Tone and mood
- Chilling; Alluring
- Premise and plot tags
- Vampire; Gothic; Historical; Drama
- Content notes
- Rape
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the direction, the fresh approach to the vampire narrative, and the lead performances of Arterton and Ronan.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 65% · review count: 118; Metacritic · score: 66 · review count: 22
- Production trivia
- The film was shown at the Glasgow Film Festival in February 2013.; The film premiered at the Irish Film Institute on 28 April 2013.; The film received a red carpet screening in Hastings on 5 June 2013.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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