Star-crossed lovers reincarnated in zombie film

“Warm Bodies”

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich

Directed by: Jonathan Levine

Grade: A-

Beating hearts, decent organizational skills, Windex-blue eyes and a subtle sense of minimalist humor — these are not the typical zombie characteristics Hollywood has pumped out over the years.

But writer and director Jonathan Levine pulls off a refreshing twist on the undying genre with “Warm Bodies.” And not unlike his 2011 film “50/50” — a blend of comedy and drama — it successfully walks the tightrope of genre collision.

The movie indulges a bit too much in the sappiness of forbidden love that was once respectfully reserved for the Capulets and Montagues but has recently been damned by vampires and werewolves. Still, even the overwrought moments of cuteness don’t slow “Warm Bodies” down. It’s an uphill, against-the-odds love story peppered with some clever laughs and a few gruesome moments.

In the post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled world of urban somewhere, the humans are in the minority and they’ve shacked up behind 50-foot concrete fortress walls around the city’s downtown district. Meanwhile, the zombies (or “corpses,” as the humans have dubbed them) lurk around suburbia with the urgency of condensed soup.

But these zombies are not your typical undead. They grunt and growl, sure. But their dead eyes aren’t exactly lifeless — they have a more pensive, aloof glint to them. The zombies even acknowledge one another from time to time with something between a moan and a mumble. And they don’t look that grotesque, all things considered. They could pass for people in line at the DMV.

Then there’s R (Nicholas Hoult) — at least, he’s pretty sure his human name started with an “R.” He’s a particularly astute, far-sighted zombie. R narrates the movie, sharing with us his existential musings, such as his inner conflict with eating people’s brains and his unfulfilled yearnings. He wants to interact, have conversations and just enjoy the company of others, much like what he imagines life was like before the unknown pandemic/plague/virus hit. The not-so-subtle commentary on the numbing effects of the cell-phone era is thoughtful and probably necessary.

During a flesh-eating raid on a human scout unit, R gobbles the brains of the typical zombie movie’s would-be hero in anticlimactic excellence. Then, as the age-old love story goes, R falls for his most recent meal’s former girlfriend, the porcelain-skinned Julie (Teresa Palmer). In an unexplained moment of humanity, the inner philosopher peaks through the exposed neck veins and drool. R saves Julie’s life from his fellow diners and smuggles her back to his bachelor pad at the airport.

There’s a “Wall-E”-like chemistry between the two as they spend days together in close quarters, listening to Bob Dylan vinyl records and falling in love without words. Palmer handles the role with patience and grace, and by the 45-minute mark, she’ll have you relating to R’s affections.

Their first date in the zombie wasteland airport (not completely unlike our airports) is hilariously awkward, as he stares at her eating, trying to play it cool. R’s pale, longing eyes do a lot of the talking, and she picks up on how hard he’s trying. Julie even notes, with a trace of very human confusion and envy, “You try so much harder than most people to be better.” Every day with her, R’s skin gets a bit rosier and his walk a little taller.

Their connection sparks something in the other zombies. Their hearts start beating again, they start dreaming again. But a mutual human-zombie enemy — the ultra-undead, too-far-gone “bonies” — are hunting R and Julie as the pair crusades to cure all zombies (bonies excluded) back to human form. And Julie’s father (John Malkovich), the military leader of the human resistance, isn’t exactly on board with her new boyfriend or their unlikely plan to save the world.

The cathartic power of actual human interaction rings loudly throughout “Warm Bodies,” and it’s enough to make you feel bad about your inability to keep your fingers off your cell phone. It’s also enough to carry Levine’s storyline.

For the genre that simply refuses to die, Levine finally gives the zombies their say. He gives us a fresh, even hopeful, take on the walking dead, as well as the walking living.