Man, this was a great film. Jim Jarmusch really did something that was incredible and put the bite back in vampires after a period of awful young-adult novels. I also loved the film's music and what it wanted to say about the world and how some things are just going away.
I definitely got the sense on nostalgia for artists long gone with the music and all the references. I feel silly for taking so long to see this movie. I'm a Jarmusch fan, but this is still one of my favorites from him.
I appreciate the idea of a vampire love story over centuries, and liked how it with its approach refrained from tons of “feeding scenes” we tend to see in vampire movies.
I get that these characters are living a quiet, secluded life, but I just wish there had been a bit more at stake for the characters. To me, it was a situation and not really a story, and became dull after a while. I prefer other Jarmusch films, but I should give Only Lovers another shot sometime. Jarmusch's Mystery Train I disliked on first viewing and enjoyed on rewatch. Go figure!
It's interesting that you mention the stakes. It's weird for me to say this given how I usually react, but I might have preferred even fewer stakes. I do think that Jarmusch films tend to get better with repeat viewings. That was definitely the case with me for Dead Man.