Byzantium played at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and the response wasn’t exactly… moving. I actually ended up skipping it based on the reactions I’d heard as I weighed it against other films to see. I can’t remember specifically what exactly ended up on my schedule as a result, but after the muted response and a slow distribution pick-up that ultimately found the film a home at IFC I didn’t feel I had missed much.
Starring Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton and directed by Neil Jordan (Interview with the Vampire), the story follows two mysterious, penniless young women who flee the scene of a violent crime and end up in a run-down coastal resort where their past may finally catch up with them. The key here is that these two women are vampires, which you may or may not have gathered by the screen capture I’ve included in this post.
IFC has yet to announce a release date, but the film will be hitting UK screens in May and an international trailer has found its way online as a result. Give it a watch below and see what you think.
