Paterson

[kevinknapman]

At the Picturehouse Central this evening for a screening of Jim Jarmusch's latest Paterson followed by a great Q&A with a suitably self-deprecating Adam Driver.

It's the story of a week in the life of an amateur poet and bus driver called Paterson who drives his bus around the city of Paterson, New Jersey before returning home to his endlessly creative girlfriend Laura and bulldog Marvin. His is a life of comfortable repetition, going through the same routines each day and night.

Though the film sounds rather mundane in its depiction of an ordinary life and potentially cringe-worthy in the use of an amateur poet as its central character, the pleasures of Paterson are plentiful.
The attention to detail throughout is beautifully done, whether it's the clippings related to the city of Paterson and its famous residents (Lou Costello, poet William Carlos Williams) stuck up on the wall of the local bar or the furnishings and pictures that decorate Paterson's home. Jarmusch and cinematographer Frederick Elmes ensure that there's always something interesting to look at on screen.
The various bus passengers also offer up many sublime moments of observation, including a satisfying mini Moonrise Kingdom reunion, as the child leads from that film cameo as a couple of teens discussing former Paterson resident, anarchist and King Umberto I of Italy assassin Gaetano Bresci.

Adam Driver is at his likeable best as Paterson and so perfect a fit for a Jim Jarmusch film that it's surprising he hadn't cast him in something sooner. Driver is also well matched by the equally charming Golshifteh Farahani as Laura. Her obsession with contrasts, whether its decorating the whole house and her own wardrobe in black and white or cooking a cheddar cheese and Brussel sprouts pie, is mined for much humour but it's, crucially, always warm and gently mocking, not spiteful or mean-spirited.
Marvin the bulldog, actually played by a bitch called Nellie, joins the list of great dogs in films, effortlessly stealing most of the scenes she's in. The late reveal of the dog's involvement in a running visual gag throughout the film is one of its funniest moments. This deservedly led to her winning the infamous Palm Dog award at Cannes earlier this year (Though finding out after the screening that she died two weeks after filming finished was a bit of a downer).
Plus Method Man makes a memorable appearance as a rapper trying out rhymes in a late night launderette.

Beautifully observed and directed, Paterson is another fine effort from Jarmusch with much of the familiar droll humour and quirky supporting characters that inhabit most of his films but with an even warmer touch than usual.
As a love letter to both a city with a rich history and to the potential for creativity to enrich our lives it is a delight from beginning to end.
Unreservedly recommended.

[ejwrank]

Well I better search this one out -- I was born in Paterson, NJ.

[kevinknapman]

Well I better search this one out -- I was born in Paterson, NJ.

Well it certainly comes across as a city with a colourful past. Plus it makes me want to visit just to stand on the bridge above the Great Falls, which appear in the film quite a bit.

[elski]

Well I better search this one out -- I was born in Paterson, NJ.

Oh wow another person for 'the wall'.
The Q&A with Adam Driver was interesting as he hasn't seen it, apparently he doesn't watch any of the films he's in. And yes the dog was a total scene stealer and I loved the random snippets of conversations of the bus passengers.

[fillumboy2]

What a fantastic little film.

This is exactly the kind of american "indie" film that it is so hard to find showing at the multiplex centres these days.

So glad that Odeon actually screened this one.

Nothing much happens and yet there is a depth and a richness to it, that makes me want to see it again.

It is smart and heart-warming, but funny too.

The eponymous town is as much the lead character of the film as Adam Driver's driver, with loving shots of the streets and the people.

Highly recommended.