PATERSON review

PATERSON 

starring Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani

directed by Jim Jarmusch

A review by Helen J. Reynolds

Paterson follows a full week in the life of the suitably named protagonist, Paterson (Adam Driver), a bus driver/poet in a relationship with crafty and artsy home-maker, Laura (Goldshifteh Farahani).

Since his foray in the Star Wars franchise, Adam Driver has become a popular man in Hollywood but here he's back in his element. This role is a far better fit that suits his quirky, quiet style.

Those that enjoy the microscopic dry wit of poet William Carlos Williams, will appreciate this homage as Paterson's life is narrated as though straight from the famous poet's pages. Observations of love, nature and - of all things - matchboxes, have the hallmarks of WCW's oddball humour as well as his deep imaginings of beauty in the dullest, most ordinary of things. 

More than just the literal poems that are written and narrated across the screen (in a somewhat repetitive fashion), the connection of the main character to life and love is exactly that of the poetry. It is and it isn't a love story. We don't see how or why Laura and Paterson have fallen for each other, but instead witness the relationship in detached conversations, building up to nothing more extraordinary than everyday happenings. Big events are either not shown or they're played down and turned trivial. The moments that are given the most screen time often feel unnecessary or just all together implausible; a deliberate artifice no doubt, but fans of realism will have to sit back and accept this dream-like structure, or else the whole thing falls apart.

Jim Jarmusch has a talent for telling simple yet odd stories so it's no surprise he would take on a project like this. There are many humorous scenes and it does have something to say about what it means to compromise in a relationship. However, there's not a real balance between showing the mundaneness of everyday life, with the passions of true love. The passion is often compromised and removed altogether from the equation, a risk which I think takes away from the charm. Movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind have similar artistic ambition and much to say on opposites ill-suited for long-term happiness, but Paterson lacks this kind of epic scale. It's a deliberate break away from the more conventional (if you can call Charlie Kaufman conventional) telling of a romance, but arguably a mistake as audiences need something to feel invested in.

Despite the nature of poetry being a window into the soul, Paterson remains elusive and mysterious to the viewer. We follow him entirely and yet are strangely detached. An artful snapshot of a life but, like WCW's poetry, you aren't quite sure if you're meant to understand it. 

 A combination of:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Howl (2010)
Silence (2016)

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