- 1.0 — March 2017
- Both a fully Jarmusch minimalist film and detailed character study (military background of driver’s paterson character)
- Easily Adam Driver’s best role/film/performance to date and a very charming performance from Golshifteh Farahani
- The bus driver listening in on conversations definitely reminds me of jarmusch’s 1991 night on earth but of course this is on a bus and not taxi cabs
- I could be way too far in the auteur/authorship weeds here but the place Driver (Paterson) likes most is the beautiful shot of trains which reminds me of jarmusch’s 1989 mystery train– trains are a focal point in the opening of Ghost Dog and Dead Man as well
- The film oozes with wonderful formal rigor from the twin (wife’s dream, seeing twins, Japanese double, Paterson/Paterson (city/man)), the weeks’ time frame, the routine, the iggy pop reference, the voice over of poetry)
- Characters love the black and white film they see and paterson’s wife laura is all about black and white (as Jarmusch was in Stranger in Paradise, Down by Law, Dead Man, Coffee and Cigarettes – 4 features
- Again, could be reading too much into this but I think the casting of Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman from moonrise kingdom is a nod to Wes Anderson. I could be wrong but Jarmusch doesn’t do anything by accident and I could see him, as a starch formalist himself, being an admirer of Wes’ work
- Even the poet’s name that Jarmusch/Paterson admire has form to it- William Carlos Williams
- Unlike la la land, the revenant, birdman, gravity, social network and other brilliant films recently this film takes the entire length of the film to appreciate. I was not that impressed 20 minutes in or even 40 minutes in as Jarmusch is building this thing. I’m positive it be a rewarding 2nd watch and even after a first watch, when the formal precision sinks in, it’s breathtaking and will blow you back
- I’m pretty sure it’s the 2nd best film of 2016 behind only la la land
2.0 June 2019
- the poems in the film came from Ron Padgett, one of Jim Jarmusch’s favorite contemporary poets
- Driver went to bus driving school and got a bus license so he could seem natural in the role- (have to think of De Niro here in Taxi Driver– Driver’s accomplishment isn’t on that level, nor is the film—but still what is really?)
- The days of the week in an overhead shot in bed (overheads used very often in Only Lovers Left Alive– Jarmusch’s previous effort from 2013). Driver checks his watch, kisses her, she tells him her dream, cereal, work, he fills his deal with poetry and the creative process (through text on the screen, elipitcal editing of his daydreaming), dinner, walk, bar… fade to black… repeat)… starts and ends on Monday morning as bookends
- People who live in Paterson, Iggy Pop, Hurricane Carter, Lou Costello
- Dreamy dissolves while writing
- Physically see David Foster Wallace’s “infinite jest” again like in Only Lovers left Alvie
- Feels very Groundhog’s day– (starring a frequent collaborator of Jarmusch’s Bill Murray) – but the repetition is very much Jarmuschian
- Method Man in the laundry going through his creative process
- No cell phone, no tv, graffiti on the wall
- It’s a minimalist film—the pain you feel when his book is torn up, and the sensation you feel when he takes up writing again at the end is earned—it’s a big moment
- Ann Hornaday – Washington Post- “What becomes clear in the course of the movie is that Jarmusch has constructed his own version of a poem, with recurring images and themes that allow him to delve into the nature of commitment, artistic ambition and how inner life is shaped”
- Village Voice Bilge Ebir- “With each step, the film gains depth. Small variations in routine start to feel monumental”
- Chris Nashawaty – Entertainment Weekly– “Even though Jarmuch has a distinct directorial style, it’s his style. It’s impossible to imitate. These days, I can’t think of a higher compliment”
- Nico Lang- Consequence of Sound – “One of the director’s finest to date, the film derives its unique power from the repetition of daily life, elevating the mundane to a kind of divinity,”
- Must-See— a feat of formal filmmaking
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