Jim Jarmusch is a director known for his wry sensibility and characters that seem to be experiencing some level of alienation. For the most part, I have liked his work with an exception here or there. But everyone has to start somewhere, and for Jarmusch, that was Permanent Vacation, where a hipster meets weirdos in New York City.
In many ways, it is a typical Jarmusch movie. But what does that mean?
Young Allie Chris Parker (Chris Parker, maybe playing himself) is a disaffected young man living in a rather squalid-looking apartment in New York City with his girlfriend Leila (Leila Gastil). At least, I think that’s the situation. He comes in, she asks where he was the past few nights, and he says he was out walking around because he can’t sleep. He does a little dance to a bit of music, and then after a chat with Leila, he goes out again to go see his mom after mentioning a house he used to live in that was destroyed in a war. What war? Leila doesn’t know either. By the by, those are the only two characters with names in the entire movie, and Leila doesn’t reappear after this opening scene.
From that moment, Allie goes out and meets a variety of colorful people, starting with a homeless war veteran, stops by the mental hospital where his mother is staying, makes some money by stealing a car, and then leaves town. He goes back to the apartment to find Leila, but she isn’t there, so he writes her a note and leaves. Sometimes a bit of the Wizard of Oz soundtrack can be heard as played by a saxophone. And the only actor I recognized at all was Frankie Faison as a guy in a movie theater lobby.
Honestly, I don’t know what to say about this movie. Did I like it? It’s not the sort of movie you like, so to speak. It’s more of a impression of a character than anything else. The most exciting moment is the car theft, and even then, it’s just Allie jumping into a car while its idling when the woman in the passenger seat gets out to put something in a nearby mailbox.
However, it is very much a Jarmusch movie. The style and ironic detachment that are a hallmark of his work is all over this movie. It’s not a love letter to the city or the culture, necessarily, so much as a look at a certain type of character and the oddballs he might meet in a largely deserted section of the city. It’s colorful and it’s Jarmusch. I wouldn’t go to this if you’re not already a fan of his work, but if you are, it’s a good look at where he started out.
Grade: B
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