Since I took some time recently to check out Jim Jarmusch’s first movie, why not look into another one I hadn’t seen before? HBO Max does have a lot of them there. The only question was which one. It was a Friday night. I had had a long week. Which one would it be?
I ended up opting for Down by Law, a black and white flick that was also Jarmusch’s first team-up with Roberto Benigni as well as Benigni’s first international film role. Plus, Benigni met his wife while working on this movie, so there’s that.
Set in and around New Orleans, the movie opens with two directionless young men. Zack (Tom Waits, who co-wrote the move’s music) is a disk jockey, out of work and tossed out after an ugly break-up with his girlfriend. Jack (John Lurie, who also co-wrote the music) is a pimp who doesn’t seem much interested in much of anything. Both men are arrested and apparently convicted of crimes they didn’t commit and, after being stuck in a cell together, take a distinct disliking to each other. They’re soon joined by a man calling himself Bob (Benigni), an Italian tourist who speaks limited English and actually did commit a crime in the form of accidental manslaughter. Bob is super-friendly and actually does his best to befriend both men.
By some unknown means, the three manage to escape from jail. Seriously, the method they use is not really shown. Once out, the three stumble through a swamp and try to find a way out, all while Zack and Jack argue over where they should go, where they are, and whether they should even stick together. Meanwhile, Bob is doing his best to keep his two friends together. Can these guys get out of the swamp?
Look, Jarmusch is probably not much interested in the survival of these guys. He doesn’t show their trials or their escape. He doesn’t even necessarily show whether they managed to stay out of prison. It doesn’t much matter. The movie is more about how these men do or don’t get along, and mostly how it comes down to Bob’s earnestness to keep his friends happy. That began in the cell and continued in the swamp. Perhaps ironically, Bob is the only one who actually committed a crime, and he seems the most innocent at the same time. Zack and Jack’s disaffected, apathetic manners don’t actually help them. They may not be guilty of a crime, but they hardly seem like people who don’t somehow deserve some sort of awakening.
The black-and-white cinematography certainly helps. Good black-and-white is great for creating mood and shadows, and the various sets Jarmusch uses have a stark look to them that fits the personalities of Jack and Zack while giving Bob even more of a means to shine. Honestly, if this was just set up as a showcase of Benigni, it was enough. He brings a real energy to everything he does even as he recites American poets in Italian and tries to teach himself English. He’s the sort of man who could make friends both of Zack and Jack and allow them to be friends with each other. While this is very much a Jarmusch movie, it really shines when Benigni is onscreen.
Grade: B+
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