Review of Paterson (2016) by Kaptenvideo — 23 Jan 2017

Paterson is the name of the city where the main character (Adam Driver) lives, and also his name. He is a man of constant simple routine: works as a bus driver, writes poetry to his secret note book, goes home to his beloved wife, eats dinner with her, takes her dog for a walk and goes to have a beer at the same bar every night. That’s it.

The legendary writer-director Jim Jarmusch only releases a new movie after every 2-4 years but when it happens, it’s always worth the wait. Yes, his unique style of storytelling is boring and frankly incomprehensible to those equating cinema – especially American – with quick thrills. But if you happen to be able to stay on the same page with him, you will be happy to spend two hours watching how seemingly nothing or little happens story-wise.

Jarmusch is all about details and how little things make bigger things meaningful – both in life and on screen. One can’t just watch his movie, it would probably become boring long before the end. You need this specific meditative mood, be ready to delve into what’s presented and forget the real time in your real world. Jarmusch’s stories are slooooooow, they are not so much about specific events and dialogue than the lead characters’ state of mind or chosen way of being, which is often illustrated by recurring events and details. In this context, some of his projects are „easier“, such as „Paterson“, and some one you wouldn’t really imagine yourself watching twice, even if you liked it, such as 2009’s „The Limits of Control“.

Having called „Paterson“ one of Jarmusch’s „easier“ movies doesn’t mean that it’s mainstream-friendly. It’s still very much a slow, meditative experience where little happens, basically the main event is shown multiple times with little variations, there’s not much dialogue or many different characters. Also, I did not symphatize with Paterson’s unconditional admiration for her wife. And I loved the movie! Goes to my personal „best of 2016“ list for sure.

So, how did Jarmusch take a story about almost nothing and make it one of the best-reviewed American movies of last year? Like stated above, the god is in the details. Jarmusch’s style of presenting everything – creating mise en scène to put it in technical terms – is so captivating, efficient and powerful that I can’t couldn’t help but watch with interest from the very first seconds. Every little thing can be interesting or, for example, funny, just because how Jarmusch has decided to show it. And nothing on screen is meaningless or trivial. He is not the only famous American director with a penchant of concentrating on fascinating details instead of extensive story and dialogue – Wes Anderson is pretty popular, too – but he sure is one of the great masters of it. And somehow it works for creating and maintaining suspense through long two hour movie (OK, for this, the music is used efficiently too). If you like „Paterson“, you like it just because how it feels. It’s not flashy in any way, and there are no big „Oscar moments“. The result is very much like life itself: it has a deeper spiritual message but one that is not carried to you on a silver platter. If you choose not to uncover or recognize it, you will not get it. And there’s nothing wrong with not getting it either. You get it when you’re ready. If not, then you’re not ready, and hearing about it wouldn’t help you. (The hint is in the beginning of this review, by the way.).

The actors are part of the puzzle, not meant to stand out specifically. But the performances are good and Adam Driver as Paterson is a rising star for sure. I love him from HBO’s „Girls“ already and am happy to see him now having leading roles in movies also. He’s also Kylo in the new „Star Wars“ trilogy if somebody cares about that.