Byzantium (4 Stars)

So what do you do if you want to make a good movie?

1. Cast Gemma Arterton.
2. Cast Saoirse Ronan.
3. Make them both vampires.

That might sound like I'm being flippant, but it's true. If you fulfil all three of those conditions you'll have a great movie, and "Byzantium" is no exception.

This is a powerful gothic horror tale, in essence and in tone. Mother and daughter, Clara and Eleanor Webb, are living in South England. I'm not sure where they're based at the beginning of the film, but after 15 minutes they move to Hastings. It's a slightly different take on vampire lore. Only men are allowed to become vampires, but Clara and Eleanor have tricked their way into vampirism, and now they're being hunted by male vampires who want to kill them. They're forced to leave their first apartment when they're discovered.

In Hastings Clara meets a man who's just inherited a seaside hotel. He's unable to run it successfully, so she suggests turning it into a brothel. The hotel is called Byzantium, in case you were wondering about the film's title.

The men aren't far behind. They still want to punish Clara and Eleanor for no other reason than they're female. It might be a film about vampires, but it could be applied to many other parts of life.

Clara had a baby after being raped as a teenager. She became a prostitute to support herself and gave Eleanor to a Catholic orphanage. In later years Clara became a vampire, so she took Eleanor out of the orphanage and gave her the same gift of vampirism. That was 200 years ago. Ever since then they've been in hiding. Clara works as a prostitute to make money, while Eleanor is sent to school. Eleanor was 16 when she became a vampire, and as far as her mother's concerned she's still 16.

Morally speaking, they're very different women. It's not just Clara's job, she's a liar by nature. She says that lies are necessary to survive, but that's just an excuse. She can't stop herself lying, not even when it's answering simple questions like "What's your name?" Eleanor's religious upbringing makes it difficult for her to lie. She's desperate to tell people her life story, so she writes it in a book, then screws up the pages and throws them out of the window. Some pages are found and read, others are lost forever, but nobody knows who wrote them.

It's only when Eleanor falls in love with a sickly young boy that she finds the courage to reveal herself. She writes her life story for an essay, telling her teachers it's the truth. They don't believe her, but they investigate her family circumstances and are shocked when they find her living in a brothel. Clara is reported to the police, which alerts the male vampires.

This is a powerful film, spoilt only by the unorthodox way it presents of a person becoming a vampire. You'll know what I mean when you see it.

Success Rate:  - 10.5

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