Review of Down by Law (1986) by Rohitashwa S — 26 Nov 2010
Jim Jarmusch is a poet. Sadly deprived of the recognition he deserves for a feel for cinema that is immediately and wholly different. Down By Law narrates, with poise and a lucid subtlety, the lives of three social misfits.
They are inmates in a prison for a while, where they spend their time, out-of-work DJ's and Italian tourist, scribbling patterns on the prison wall and reciting Walt Whitman in Italian. That, I guess, sums up Jarmusch's world view more than anything else.
He sees himself, and in himself, a foreigner in America, a tourist endlessly in search of it. Out of prison, they hit the road, the mysterious wide-branched jungles and the shanty dwellings in it, spend the night quibbling and chasing after a rabbit.
They do not like each other. And yet, what the director makes apparent throughout is the likeness of their circumstances, of their inherent natures. A stellar cast, and a pulsating indie soundtrack by the versatile Tom Waits, of course, immesurably helps.
This then, remains an ode to the misfit, which inevitably makes it a personal favourite.
This review of Down by Law (1986) was written by Rohitashwa S on 26 Nov 2010.
Down by Law has generally received very positive reviews.
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