The Limits of Control (2009)
The Limits of Control (2009) — So I’m generally a big fan of the films of Jim Jarmusch but this one just didn’t do it for me. I’m not opposed to deliberate pacing or minimal dialogue but I felt like I was missing something this whole movie. Like I just didn’t get it or whatever. In its eventfulness though the movie achieves a certain hypnotic quality. I didn’t get it but I was never bored so much as passively intrigued. This is no small part due to the brilliant visuals of the gifted cinematographer Christopher Doyle (frequent collaborator of Wong Kar Wai and Zhang Yimou). The images are striking (by which I mean the shot composition and not just the sight of a constantly nude Paz de la Huerta, though that’s very nice as well). The story is about a guy (Isaac de Bankolé) in Europe to do something. That’s about as much as it really gets up to, until the end. All the actors fill their roles quite nicely but as I’ve said I never escaped the feeling that something was missing. This movie is trying to say something and it’s outside my comprehension. Truth be told, I’m just not that clever. As far as Jarmusch goes that makes two out of nine movies of his I’ve seen that I didn’t enjoy. That’s still a very good track record and I eagerly await whatever he does next.
Persistence of Vision 