Plenty of talented actors will debase themselves in order to work with certain auteurs such as Jim Jarmucsh. The latest casualties of this seemingly ageless trend are Gael Garcia Bernal and Hiam Abass. Since Mr. Jarmusch oozes cool, he gets to hand pick not only good-looking, but genuinely gifted actors to perform scenes that any common video store clerk could nail. One can only hope that all parties involved are satisfied with what results of such compromise.
Jim, of course, knows exactly what he's doing at all times. Little in his films seems improvised. Maybe he lets Bill Murray get his kicks by spouting off whatever first comes to mind, but otherwise, everything else usually appears very poised. Jarmusch is an impressionist and all his work adds up to nothing more than a contemplation. Everyone that the almost silent protagonist meets in The Limits of Control has questions for him; the first of which is, "You don't speak Spanish, right?" and the second is along the lines of "You wouldn't happen to be interested in (fill in subject), would you?" Usually the dialogue in a Jarmusch film is somewhat engaging, though off-kilter. Here, it's snore-inducing, unenlightening pseudo-philosophic tripe. I don't really know if it's designed to fool the audience into thinking they somehow missed the profundity in such sparse sentences, thereby forcing a second listen/viewing in the search for meaning. No one should think twice about this film. It was a joy to watch and that's about all.
Speaking of the visuals, they are really the only highlight of The Limits of Control. Jarmusch took his shtick on the road to Spain with cinematographer, Christopher Doyle. Spain looks tasty and nothing is fabricated save the streets. This film shunned most of Spains' residents. On ground level, it's deserted. Every once and a while the camera would pann up to see a few gawkers peering down from their patios. After about an hour of watching this, I started to wish I was hanging out with whoever wasn't around each locale. They must've been involved in more exciting stuff than was happening on screen.
Rating Scale: 0-4 Bedpans
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