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After creating one of the breakthrough movies of the American independent cinema,
Stranger than Paradise, Jim Jarmusch stayed right in the same minimalist, oddball, black-and-white groove.
Down by Law takes place in Louisiana, where two losers (musicians Tom Waits and John Lurie) find themselves stuck in a jail cell together. One day they are joined by a boisterous Italian (Roberto Benigni), and the chemistry changes--suddenly an escape attempt is on the horizon. Conventional drama is not Jarmusch's intention; one of the emotional high points of this movie is the three guys marching around their prison cell shouting, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" Yet the deadpan style creates its own humorous mood, underscored by melancholy (also underscored by the music of Lurie and the gravel-voiced songs of Waits). This was the first American film for Roberto Benigni, the Italian comedian (
Life Is Beautiful), and he lights it up with his effervescent clowning. Jarmusch has said that
Down by Law forms a loose trilogy with
Stranger than Paradise and the subsequent
Mystery Train, a triptych of disaffected, drifting life in the United States. Few filmmakers have ever surveyed ennui so entertainingly.
--Robert Horton
DVD features
The low-budget aesthetic of Jim Jarmusch informs the eclectic bonus features on Criterion's
Down by Law DVD. A high-definition digital transfer ensures that the film never looked or sounded better, and Jarmusch's wide-ranging reflections offer a welcome alternative to a full-length commentary. The 1986 Cannes press conference is a polyglot affair, providing interesting then-and-now perspectives on the film and its creators, energized by the effervescent personality of Roberto Benigni. John Lurie's Cannes interview is a hangover in progress, and his 2002 commentary a self-deprecating reflection on his wilder past. In a 2002 interview, cinematographer Robby Mller eloquently defines his artistic outlook and the technical aspects of shooting
Down by Law, while the "Jarmusch Q&A" entertainingly answers e-mails (some serious, some peculiar) sent to Criterion's Web site. Jarmusch's 2002 phone calls to Tom Waits, Lurie, and Benigni are casual curios, as is the rarely seen, Jarmusch-directed video for Waits's eccentric Cole Porter cover, "It's All Right with Me." Sit back and enjoy; coffee and cigarettes are optional.
--Jeff Shannon
