Byzantium (film)

Byzantium is a 2012 vampire film directed by Neil Jordan. The film stars Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, and Sam Riley.

Byzantium had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2012, and was released in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2013. The film received generally positive reviews.

Plot summary
In 2010, an old man, Robert Fowlds, picks up a discarded note dropped by teenage vampire Eleanor Webb, who has taken to writing her life story and then throwing the individual pages to the wind. Realising what she is, the old man invites Eleanor to his house and tells her that he is ready for death. Eleanor proceeds to kill him and consume his blood. Elsewhere, Eleanor's mother, Clara, is chased from the lap-dancing club where she has been working. Werner, a member of the vampiric Brethren, demands to know where Eleanor is and captures her after an extended chase. Clara decapitates Werner, burns his body and leaves town with her daughter.

Eleanor and Clara seek sanctuary in a dilapidated coastal resort. There, Clara sets her sights on a lonely soul named Noel, who has just inherited the Byzantium Hotel, a once-thriving business that has fallen into disrepair. Eleanor plays the piano in a restaurant and is approached by a young waiter named Frank, who takes a shine to her. Having seduced Noel, Clara turns the Byzantium into a makeshift brothel and Eleanor joins the local college which Frank also attends. Interested in her past, Frank questions Eleanor, who writes her story for him to read. Not entirely believing it, he shows it to their teacher, Kevin.

The story, revealed in a series of flashbacks over the course of the film, begins during the Napoleonic Wars, when a young Clara encounters two Royal Navy officers, Captain Ruthven and Midshipman Darvell. Much to the dismay of Darvell, Clara leaves with Ruthven, who forces her into prostitution after raping her. When Eleanor is born in 1804, Clara leaves her at a private orphanage. Years later, Clara is dying of what appears to be tuberculosis when the brothel is visited by Darvell, who has become a vampire. He gives Ruthven a map to an island where people can become vampires if they are willing to die. Clara shoots Ruthven in the leg, steals the map and makes her way to the island to become a vampire. Darvell finds Clara and takes her to the Brethren, a secret society of vampires that protects the secret of vampirism.

As their members have traditionally been male nobles, they are appalled that a low-born prostitute has joined their ranks but decide to spare her life, warning her that she must abide by their code but that she may play no part in their Brotherhood. Clara, alone and desperate after her banishment, secretly visits Eleanor at night. Shortly afterwards, Clara's decision to spare Ruthven comes back to haunt her, when the vengeful, syphilis-ridden Captain turns up at Eleanor's orphanage and drags her down to the basement to rape her. Clara brutally murders him but she is too late; Eleanor is condemned to a slow, painful death. Desperate to save her daughter's life, Clara takes Eleanor to the island and has her transformed into a vampire, violating the Brethren's code. The Brethren begin hunting Clara and Eleanor.

In the 21st century, Eleanor falls in love with Frank and decides to help him turn into a vampire so they can be together, since he is dying from leukaemia. Before killing him, Clara finds out from Kevin that Eleanor has told Frank of their past. Noel is accidentally killed, falling down the lift shaft, when Clara tries to prevent Eleanor from leaving the hotel and succeeds in trapping her in the lift. While Clara is out dealing with Frank, Darvell and Savella, the Brethren's leader, posing as police, find out from Kevin's colleague Morag where Clara is and go to kill her. Clara leaves without killing Frank when she realises that Eleanor is in mortal danger.

The Brethren kidnap Eleanor and drive her to an abandoned fairground to destroy her, only to be stopped by Clara. After killing Morag, Savella battles Clara and ultimately subdues her. Savella hands Darvell his sword, which he took from Byzantium during the Crusades, so he can kill Clara. Darvell, who has always harboured feelings for Clara, kills Savella instead. On the run again, Clara leaves with Darvell while Eleanor takes a weakened Frank to the island so he can become a vampire.

Cast

 * Saoirse Ronan as Eleanor Webb
 * Gemma Arterton as Clara Webb
 * Sam Riley as Midshipman Darvell
 * Jonny Lee Miller as Captain Ruthven
 * Daniel Mays as Noel
 * Caleb Landry Jones as Frank
 * Tom Hollander as Kevin
 * Maria Doyle Kennedy as Morag
 * Warren Brown as Gareth
 * Thure Lindhardt as Werner
 * Uri Gavriel as Savella
 * Kate Ashfield as Gabi
 * Barry Cassin as Robert Fowlds

Release
The film premiered at the Irish Film Institute on 28 April 2013 with director Neil Jordan in attendance. It also received a red carpet screening in Hastings on 5 June 2013.

The film was shown at the Glasgow Film Festival in February 2013 with Neil Jordan, Saoirse Ronan, and Gemma Arterton in attendance.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2013, and received a limited release in North America on 28 June 2013.

Reception
Byzantium received generally positive reviews from film critics. , the film holds a 66% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 120 reviews with an average rating of 6.4 out of 10. The site's consensus reads: "Director Neil Jordan remains as expert as ever when it comes to setting a chilling mood, but Byzantium struggles to match its creepily alluring atmosphere with a suitably compelling story." Metacritic gave the film a "generally favorable" score of 66 based on reviews from 22 sampled reviewers.

Critic Steven Boone, writing for Roger Ebert, wrote that, "the way screenwriter Moira Buffini [...] weaves threads of history, folklore, feminist spirit and universal themes is striking," praising also the camera work but finding fault with the amount of violence.

Philip French writing for The Guardian, found that "Byzantium is a complex film that combines a traditional gothic horror story (though not one that sticks to traditional vampire law), social history and a realistic account of dealing with authentic physical distress."

Both French and Boone were of the opinion that Byzantium compared favorably to director Neil Jordan's previous vampire film, Interview with the Vampire and to other popular vampire films, with Boone specifically mentioning the Twilight movies.

Female Vampires: The Monstrous Feminine
Through the exploitation of the monstrous feminine and female vampire tropes, Neil Jordan’s Byzantium (2012) is a film that explores humanity through the experiences of the monstrous. This film follows the relationship of two female vampires who are later revealed to be mother and daughter. In contrast to the adoptive mother-vampire seen in Twilight, the vampire mother (Clara) in Byzantium is also her daughter’s (Eleanor) biological mother. As a result, Jordan’s film explores the themes of instinctual motherhood, humanity, and above all, femininity.

Clara, as the vampire matriarch, embodies the monstrous feminine and thus “represent[s] [a] liberating and transformative figure.” The monstrous feminine in cinema relies on the subversion of gender norms and the reclaiming of femininity; this is exemplified through the dichotomy between Clara’s outward femininity and her predatory instincts. As a female vampire, it is evident that “despite her outward physical alignment with the natural, she is rendered monstrous.” There are many scenes in the film in which Clara, a conventionally attractive woman, can lure her victims into a false sense of comfort before killing them. Viewers may be unsettled by her “destructive beauty and charm of womanhood” that conflicts with the brutality of her actions.

Intersection of the Witch and the Vampire
Interestingly, the monsters of this film are not explicitly called vampires, but are instead soucriants. According to Hobson and Anyiwo (2016), this term “arises from Caribbean folklore of “vampire witch[es].” Witches, throughout the course of history, have been targets of male aggression, and they continue to exist as symbols of feminine power as well as marginalization. The ruling vampire group, the Brotherhood, emphasizes Clara’s threat to their existence as they call her a witch while attempting to kill her. Their centuries-long vendetta and persecution parallel the marginalization and religious persecution of ‘deviant’ women believed to be witches. As a representation of the monstrous feminine, Clara’s embrace of her femininity and sexuality is a tangible realization of the patriarchal fears of the Brotherhood.

Monstrous Motherhood
The “archetype of mother” is a prevalent characteristic of the monstrous feminine. Monstrous motherhood, alongside the exploitation of gender, emphasizes the fragility of human relationships. The focus on the fraught and codependent relationship between mother and daughter blurs the lines between monstrosity and humanity. Clara’s protection of her daughter, even in situations where she lacks the supernatural advantage, is compelling evidence of her maternal strength.

Monstrous motherhood is also seen visually through Clara’s transformation into a vampire. Traditional vampire stories often include the transformation as something intimate and sexual, a transformation that occurs from the bite of a vampire. In this film, however, humans are transformed by a faceless monster that bears an exact resemblance to them. The mirror nature of the monster forces individuals to confront their true selves, thus suggesting that eternal life is realized through the reconciliation of human imperfections and weaknesses. Clara’s rebirth as an eternal monster allows her to overcome her human susceptibilities and reconciles her motherhood and femininity. The blood-filled waterfalls seen following her transformation, and the subsequent menstrual imagery reinforce Clara’s acceptance of her strength, femininity, and womanhood further highlighting her monstrous femininity.

Exploitation of the Vulnerable
Vampires often serve as an important symbol of otherness and alienation, wherein the vampire, through their invisibility, highlights sentiments of otherness that can be recognized in marginalized communities. To further this, the female vampire becomes symbolic of “an object of patriarchal repression or abuse;” Clara is consistently depicted as inferior to her male counterparts, and her existence as a female vampire inherently alienates her in the patriarchal Brotherhood.

Jordan’s use of flashbacks allows viewers to empathize with Clara while also emphasizing the inherent violence of the patriarchy. During her early adolescence, Clara is lured by Ruthven, a captain in the military, reminiscent of the devil’s temptation of Eve. Moreover, as they ride away, viewers are struck by the haunting image of the innocent girl in bright red. Her vulnerability is palpable, and her clothing parallels Red Riding Hood further emphasizing Ruthven as the wolf. While his explicit actions are unsettling, the social protection that the military affords him is symbolic of a greater institutional evil. Throughout history, men in positions of authority have utilized their power to exploit and harm women thus reinforcing patriarchal values and systems. To further his malevolent nature, the name Ruthven pays homage to early vampire literature in which this character is “a mysterious, manipulative, and immoral seducer and killer.”

Following his rape of a young Clara, Ruthven states “welcome to your adult life, whore.” This male aggression of the feminine body is terrifying as viewers understand that “[Clara] was introduced to her sexuality through sexual violence.” The monstrous brutality of his actions “shift[s] the qualities and associations of the monstrous away from the female vampire and on to Ruthven.” For female viewers, many of the acts of violence committed by Clara are representative of her revenge on men who abuse their power and authority to abuse women. Many women in similar positions have often fantasized about seeking retribution on their aggressors, and Clara’s revenge may be a form of catharsis for them.

Invisibility of the Monster
Invisibility is a recurring characteristic of vampirism, through both film and literature. Beyond the subversion of gender expectations, Clara and Eleanor challenge traditional vampire norms as they are physically visible. They can be seen in mirrors (as seen in the scene where she kills a member of the Brotherhood) and they can move around in the light. However, unlike The Hunger, in which wealth provides invisibility, Clara is invisible due to her prostitution. Those vulnerable in society (i.e., sex workers) are often Othered and are considered to be on the outside of “acceptable” society. As a result, they are able to move in the shadows with their social status limiting their visibility. While this invisibility allows Clara to hide from the Brotherhood, it has proved fatal for marginalized populations as they face lower access to social services.

Criticism of the Film
For many, Clara’s depiction as a powerful vampire is limited by her portrayal as a prostitute for the two hundred years of her life. In her meeting with the Brotherhood, after she’s turned, Clara aspires to become an avenging angel for women assaulted by men; however, she remains an active participant in the exploitative system and recruits other women to participate in sex work as well. Though some argue that “Clara’s two hundred years of sex work might be understood as a form of feminine agency,” many viewers still find her actions to be the result of her vulnerability to “patriarchal narratives of submission, victimization, and helplessness.” By facilitating the exploitation of women, similar to how she was exploited, she appears to perpetuate and profit from the exploitation of other vulnerable girls. Regardless of its flaws, Byzantium’s exploration of feminine power and motherhood makes it a compelling portrayal of vampires in contemporary cinema.