Neil Jordan’s Byzantium gets a lovely new trailer

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Last month saw the release of the international trailer for Neil Jordan’s BYZANTIUM, a lush vampire tale starring Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan. Today we have IFC’s domestic trailer for the film, which hits theaters next month.

Must say, I wasn’t so taken by the international preview, but this latest one shines a new light on the film, which looks rather beautiful. Suddenly, I’m quite excited for Jordan’s new vampire tale.

Eleanor and Clara, two mysterious and penniless young women, flee the scene of a violent crime and arrive in a run-down coastal resort. They try to find money and refuge along the tawdry seafront and in the dilapidated hotels. Clara, ever-practical, sells her body. She soon meets shy and lonely Noel, who provides a roof over their heads in his seedy guesthouse, Byzantium. Clara, always looking towards the future, turns it into a ‘pop-up’ brothel.

Meanwhile Eleanor, the eternal schoolgirl, meets Frank, a kindred spirit who unwittingly prompts her to tell the truth about her life. She tells him that Clara is her mother; yet Clara is only a few years older. She says that she was born in 1804; yet she is just sixteen. She confesses that she must drink human blood to stay alive – and so must her mother. In the small, quiet town, people start to die.

BYZANTIUM stars Arterton, Ronan, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller, Caleb Landry Jones and Tom Hollander. IFC will release it on June 28th.