'Only Lovers Left Alive' at NYFF: Tilda Swinton Talks About Enduring Love and Working with 'Pal' Jim Jarmusch [EXCLUSIVE]
Tilda Swinton, Jim Jarmusch, and Jeffrey Wright came out for the screening of Only Lovers Left Alive at the New York Film Festival on October 10.
Swinton looked svelte, with her short blonde hair swept back, the actress wore flowy pants, a loose fitting shirt, and a black sequined jacket.
Enstars caught up with Swinton to talk about the themes that lie at the heart of the film and working with Jarmusch.
In the film, Swinton (Eve) and Tom Hiddleston's (Adam) characters are modern-day vampires, but that fact is more of a device to assist in telling a story about a couple that witnesses history and a love that endures through centuries.
During a brief Q&A session after the screening, Jarmusch had clarified that he did not intend to make a "vampire horror film," and he wanted to make "a character study, really a love story."
When asked about the qualities she thinks might sustain a relationship and love through the eras, Swinton didn't offer any glorifying insights and stuck to the basics, the simpler stuff, which also defines Adam and Eve's relationship in the film.
"Just liking each other, you know, I think it's really important to like each other and it's really important to be patient, to listen, and to always be ready with some ridiculous joke, whenever times get tough," she told Enstars.
The film has been 8 years in the making and while it also required dedication, the friendship between Jarmusch and Swinton also seems to have ensured that the project was realized.
"He's my pal, I've made two other films with him but then we've been making this film for eight years and every time we are in the same town or very often over skype," she said. "We've been chatting about this film for eight years so he feels like a long long time colleague and he is a friend, you know. It doesn't get better than that."
As Adam and Eve live through time, they see culture and art evolve. While Adam is stuck in rewind -- using redundant equipment like a cordless telephone from the eighties and an old TV set -- Eve is quite savvy and embraces the now, with her iPhone always by her side.
In real life Swinton seems to be in agreement with her character's modern ways, she let us know that she wouldn't live in any other time period other than the now. "I am really happy with the present, fully," she said.
The film doesn't have a US release date yet.
Watch a clip from Only Lovers Left Alive:
