The Hunger (1983)
Directed by Tony Scott
Staring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon
A couple watches people at a Bauhas performance. They seduce another couple and take them back to their New York townhouse. The couples switch partners and the hosts slash open their guests with ritualistic daggers. This is the life of Miriam and John Blaylock: classy couple and immortal murderers. The two live a quiet life of music lessons and blood drinking. The routine is derailed when John begins to age. Miriam’s lovers all have the same problem: they will live forever. Their bodies will decay and atrophy, trapping their alert minds in helpless husks. John is losing his hair and getting wrinkles, but soon it will be much worse. They both seek the help of geriatrics researcher Sarah Roberts, who has been making some advances in finding ways to reverse aging. Things might be too late for John, as he is growing old at a rapid pace. Miriam is getting ready to say goodbye to one lover and looking for his replacement in Sarah.
The Hunger is Tony Scott’s directorial debut, but you would not know it from the deft handling of the material. Before he learned to love green-tinted lenses, Scott liked to vary his color palette. The movie takes a bluish hue, with occasional splashes of vibrant red. The darkness is pitch black and the lights are nearly blinding. The quick edits that would later define his visual style are used well here. They tell parallel stories and add symbolism into the mix with lovely craftsmanship. The acting is wonderful all around. Catherine Deneuve plays Miriam as a dangerously seductive, high priestess of love. David Bowie owns his role as Miriam’s husband, John. He is intense and desperate as a man who realizes his time is quickly running out. Susan Sarandon imbues enough curiosity and satisfaction in her turn as Sarah to make her attraction to Miriam authentic.
The only real complaint against this movie is its favor of substance over style. The visuals are gorgeous and the editing shows creative flair, but the story is kept somewhat thin. No explanation is given for Miriam’s vampirism or how it differs from her lovers. There are suggestions of its source and just how old Miriam truly is. All these things are shown rather well, but they are not exactly satisfying answers. They are quick images of scenes that reveal a deeper story in need of excavation. These things would cause more trouble if it were not for the film’s ability to wrap you in its stylish charm.
The Hunger is a story about the costs of life, love, and death. Equally erotic and forbidding, the film tries to convey what it is like to be consumed by something that can never be satisfied. Plus, David Bowie ages seventy years in about thirty minutes of film. That is hard to top.
8 out of 10
