Review of The Limits of Control (2009) by Karl L — 26 Nov 2010

I was disappointed when I first saw it because it was and wasn't the movie I'd expected. I expected, maybe, a more literal thriller, a mind-trip in a more mainstream Christopher Nolan sort of way, not the artzy Waking Life of silent assassin B-movies. I thought it was an example of an interesting idea and lazy execution. I had no idea what Jarmusch was getting at, besides some theoretical background of subjectivity.

A funny thing happened in the following months though... Parts of the movie had stayed with me, like a virus. I found myself curious to revisit it, thought maybe I hadn't been fair to it. After all, some shots were clearly mesmerizing in and of themselves... One night I couldn't sleep and started to watch it, illegally, on the internet, thinking this of all things would surely cure my insomnia. While the movie did have the effect of soothing me, I found that this time I had to watch it. A late insomniac night alone, I was more attuned to its meditative rhythms.

I am especially happy with the Tilda Swinton scene and I am never sure why except maybe that Jarmusch has a way of reducing actions to micro-sensitivity so every little quirk becomes interesting. Swinton is a very quirky actress so this plays quite well. As does John Hurt later in the movie. Gael Garcia "Babel" whatever his name has an interesting scene too talking about drug trips as another state of consciousness. And then Bill Murray does what, from first viewing, struck me as a very good Cheney impression, without making it explicit.

Anyway, my theory about what happened in the theater: partially it was my misconceptions about what I was going to see, partially it's a movie that maybe needs two viewings, but I also think it was the theater atmosphere itself. Theaters are not designed for movies like Limits of Control anymore. It's the sort of movie that's meant to be caught on TV one light night in a strange mood... and you start watching, not knowing what you're watching, and get swept away on it. And, as a critique of cliche in other thrillers, a deconstruction of them maybe, it's funny. As pure filmmaking, it's a reminder Jim Jarmusch is still an important, quieter stylist for our overhyped blockbuster times. Here is Jim Jarmusch's "Inception.".