Paterson

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Paterson details a week in the life of Adam Driver’s title character and follows the affable figure as he drives a city bus, spends time with his girlfriend (Golshifteh Farahani’s Laura), and works on his poetry. It’s perhaps not surprising to discover that Jarmusch has infused Paterson with as low-key a feel as the premise might’ve indicated, and yet the movie remains surprisingly compelling for the majority of its somewhat overlong running time – with Jarmusch’s subdued approach to the material paving the way for a frequently hypnotic character study. Driver’s superb, subtle turn as the likeable protagonist plays an instrumental role in cementing the movie’s success, to be sure, and it’s clear, too, that Paterson benefits from Jarmusch’s typically idiosyncratic screenplay (which, in addition to detailing Paterson’s relationship with the quirky Laura, frequently emphasizes the exploits of offbeat periphery figures). The pervasively subtle atmosphere paves the way for a narrative that grows more and more engrossing, which, in turn, ensures that Paterson himself becomes an increasingly captivating hero that one can’t help but sympathize with and root for (and which ensures that a certain plot development in the third act is nothing short of heartbreaking). The end result is Jarmusch’s best (and most personal, seemingly) film to come around in quite some time, with the irresistibly well-developed nature of the central character’s small world merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of Paterson‘s many pleasures.

***1/2 out of ****