Paterson (2016)

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Director

Jim Jarmusch

Countries

USA, France, Germany

Cast

Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, William Jackson Harper, Chasten Harmon, Barry Shabaka Henley, Rizwan Manji, Masatoshi Nagase, Kara Hayward, Jared Gilman, Method Man, Sterling Jerins

Storyline

It follows one week in the life of Paterson (Adam Driver), a young bus driver in the city of Paterson, New Jersey, with a big passion for poetry.

Opinion

I really wanted to like this film. The trailer looked interesting and I've heard a lot of great thing about it. Unfortunately, it made me understand those people who couldn't stand Jarmusch's latest film, "Only Lovers Left Alive". "Paterson" is repetitive and tedious. So tedious it's a challenge not to fall asleep.

The problem with this film is that it keeps you waiting for a story to develop, but nothing actually happens. All Jarmusch does is showing the tedious life of a bus driver drowning in daily life routine who tries to escape by writing poetries, goddamn awful poetries, to be honest, and his relationship with his girlfriend who has the urge to paint weird patterns everywhere. Also, Paterson's life is something, more we all experience every day. Some more than others.

I'm still trying to figure out what Jarmusch was trying to do, whether he wanted to make a character study or a relationship study; there's neither of them. Maybe he wanted to enhance the beauty of small things in life, but he didn't manage to that either. What he managed to do is present us a character that is not interesting, and far from being the kind of person that appreciate the little things in life. Paterson is more of an apathetic, bored guy who doesn't feel anything. He is as pathetic as its poetries, and all he does is faking emotions. The wife, on the other hand, is that kind of person; she is the interesting character. Unfortunately, she's just a supporting character.

All of that being said, Adam Driver really does a wonderful job as Paterson. He has the same bored expression throughout the whole film which fits the character very well. Golshifteh Farahani also does a good job as Paterson's quirky and interesting girlfriend.