Review of The Limits of Control (2009) by Drew W — 02 Jun 2009

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Jim Jarmusch (if you haven't seen Stranger Than Paradise, Down By Law, Dead Man or Broken Flowers you are sorely missing out), but even the best of film makers have a down point. The Limits of Control isn't terrible by any means, it doesn't rank up there with a number of the soulless pap Hollywood churns out, but it could stand to be better. Here, Jarmusch is on auto-pilot, allowing his own deadpan trademarks to speak for him. It isn't very interesting unfortunately. Plot? There isn't really one, just a fixture on Isaac de Bankole as a nameless hit man wandering Spain and running into random actors (Gael Garcia Bernal, Tilda Swinton) and Jarmusch regulars (Bill Murray, always a delight). They all don't really act however, they act more like mannequins.

As I said though, Jarmusch is the antithesis of Hollywood crap, and his movies would never attract the Transformers crowd, and in that sense, the movie is definitely worth seeing.