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Last updated: 19 Jul 2026 at 11:23 UTC

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Review of by Sheila Benson for Los Angeles Times — 15 May 2003

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The humor of Down by Law is marginally easier to describe than Stranger Than Paradise, but only because, by now, we have a small idea of Jarmusch's style. It's still a kind of humor that evaporates as you try to explain it.

Also eluding description is the beauty, the street poetry and the precision of the images caught by Jarmusch and his cameraman, the great Robby Muller, whose black-and-white photography illuminated the early films of Wim Wenders.

They have created a dream New Orleans, more succinct and more haunting than the city itself, and Lurie has set it to music.

You can read the full review where it was originally posted online.

This review of Down by Law (1986) was written by and published by Los Angeles Times on 15 May 2003.

Down by Law has generally received very positive reviews.

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