Better Late Then Never

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Blistering performances.

Arg! I almost want to give this movie an 8.But the thing is, although there are interesting parts, it is also often very dull.I could see what he was going for but too often I felt that the scenes, although interesting and fun, were lacking in depth.I did enjoy it overall but it was also a little hard to sit through.This was my first Jarmusch and I am looking forward to watching more. It felt appropriate because Sunday they're screening his 2nd feature at a local theater.It did have well directed scenes, and some felt very trance-like. The main actor is not fantastic but good enough, he does show acting talent so I'm curious if I'll see him in something again.

This movie is split into several independent scenes, like separate paintings in a gallery. What connects them is Allie, the main character, and the shabby streets and abandoned buildings of some neighborhoods of New York. Every scene focuses, besides Allie, on one more or less disturbed character, almost like a human zoo. After a few words are exchanged, Allie leaves them, and no deeper connection is made. That's it. In the end, he departs on a ship headed for Europe. Our limited insight into why he does what he does comes mainly from two voice overs in the beginning and the closing of the film.I wasn't bored for a single second, something that seems to be a huge issue for other people when they watch this film. The slowness, the surreal dialog, the eccentric characters and the morbid backdrops combined with a very strange music had some sort of hallucinatory effect on me. It was not only a look at a past era, with some shots reminding me of Edward Hopper paintings, but also into the condition of the drifters and lunatics who populated those streets. It is arguably a pretty superficial look without an attempt to develop any of the characters. I'm not really sure why this should speak against this particular film, since it not only defies character development, but also any conventional structure, plot or storytelling. To consciously create a debut movie that a lot of people will find „boring", without trying to go for some obvious effect, is a pretty bold move in my eyes. It would be easy for a more biased person to think that the scenes drag on only for the film to reach it's feature length.It is obviously a low budget production of someone trying out different approaches, but it also clearly has everything that would later make a typical Jarmusch film. The long silent pauses, the odd people, the run down locations, the still frames and, lastly, the music. I almost feel as if Jarmusch's more recent Only Lovers Left Alive is a variation of this film.The film is an experiment with technical flaws that I am not really qualified enough to completely point out, but at it's core it has a strange and haunting quality. It had me thinking about it a few days after watching, something most other films don't accomplish.

Coming to NYU? Going to live in the village? Perplexed by old timers talking about 'how the village/lower east side has gentrified? Watch this in the background as you sip your mocha with soy care of gentrification. The background shots are for real. See how parts of NY looked back in the day. Serves as brilliant photo-journal as that time but with motion.I moved to to village in 1980 away from Europe and this brought back so many memories not just of the urban landscape but the characters. It was the perfect antidote to the stale suburbs and perfect environment to write, act, dance, play music, make love and generally 'Express Yo'Self!'

People seem to like this movie only because it's a Jim Jarmusch movie. Now, i'm not knocking Jarmusch, I loved Down by Law, but sometimes his films get a tad too pretentious for me. But I can usually overlook that. But this movie! I hated the main actor, I hated the dialogue (seriously, not even most hipsters talk like that!)and I hated the plot. There were some good shots in there, but all in all I found it irritating, and Aloysius reminded me of why I hate hipsters so much. Every time he opened his mouth I wanted to punch him in the face. Whenever he tried to act cook in front of the girl, I wanted to close my laptop screen and just abandon it. I ended up making it through about forty minutes before turning it off. So I don't know, maybe this was a hidden masterpiece. But I sincerely doubt it, and I don't intend on re watching it to find out. I rate it as a three only because of some of the cinematography.