Ronan stars as a shy young girl who has been turned into an immortal vampire by her own mother and is seeking refuge in a run-down coastal resort.
- Feb 2, 2013
AceShowbiz - "Byzantium" gets its very first international trailer released online. Boasting quite intense scenes, the U.K. promo video sees Saoirse Ronan revealing her family secret. Turns out her mother Gemma Arterton is a wicked vampire who has been living for two centuries. The two ladies then form a lethal partnership and sometimes pose as sisters.
Ronan plays a girl named Eleanor. A natural introvert, her idea of a good time is to put pen to paper and reflect on her inner life. Her "sister" Clara (Arterton) is the complete opposite: extroverted and sexual, she struts around in stilettos and skin-tight garb, attracting hungry male gazes wherever she goes.
Both carry secrets from deep in their shared past - all 200 years of it. It turns out that Clara was involved in a passionate love affair during the Napoleonic Wars, while at the same time Eleanor was abandoned as a child.
In the present, both seek to preserve their secret from their unsuspecting new companions. Eleanor falls for a sweet young waiter (Caleb Landry Jones), while Clara settles on a homey, unsuspecting man (Daniel Mays) who has just come into an inheritance: the Byzantium Hotel, which has seen better days.
The fun begins as Eleanor and Clara shack up in the hotel, feeding off their victims while attempting to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, who are hot on the duo's trail after Clara rather violently disposes of a particularly seedy pickup.
Adapted from Moira Buffini's play "A Vampire Story", "Byzantium" is directed by Neil Jordan. Sam Riley, Tom Hollander and Jonny Lee Miller are also supporting the fantasy thriller pic, which still hasn't got a U.S. release date.
