Down by Law (1986)

Yeah, another R-rated, male-heavy, female-nudity-including crime flick already. But that's about where the similarity ends. This one is directed by Jim Jarmusch, whom I hear about often enough that I wasn't content to have seen only his Broken Flowers.

Zack (Tom Waits, whom Jarmusch also directed in a couple music videos), a fired DJ in New Orleans, accepts an odd job delivering a car and then gets arrested, because the police knew of a body in the car that he didn't. He's soon joined in a cell by Jack (John Lurie), a pimp caught trying to do business with a girl he then learns is underage. Their next cellmate is Bob (Roberto Benigni), who did kill somebody, but he claims self-defense. They don't get along easily, but when Bob sees an opportunity to escape, they band together and brave the bayou.

This is quite obviously an early indie for Jarmusch, with black and white, a small cast, a few actors using their real names, no pricey backdrops, and little on-screen action. I think the filmmakers try to make up for it with realism, chiefly in the form of a simple plot, repetitive dialog, and many slowwww scenes. Alas, for presumably economic reasons, they have to skip over some moments that would have been more interesting to watch, which makes for poor rhythm with the slow parts. Furthermore, cutting into our sense of authenticity is the forced nature of the setups of Zack and especially Jack, who could easily have avoided the trap with a little common sense. And the apparent resolution feels too easy.

Viewers tend to like DbL for the acting. Perhaps I should say the chemistry among the three main actors. For my part, I found the lethargic Zack kinda boring. Jack's no more respectable.

The real star in my mind is Benigni, who had never been to the U.S. before. His English herein is barely adequate, but that's part of the charm, being somewhat cute and comical. Not as over-the-top as in Life Is Beautiful 11 years later, he's still pretty loud and flamboyant, hoping to be everybody's friend. It's because of him that I remembered hearing people talk about this film back in my teens.

I might see more from Jarmusch; he does have a lot of cult hits, not all looking like this. But if so, I'll come prepared with a lot of patience.