Writer director Jim Jarmusch released two films this year, the Stooges documentary, Gimme Danger, and Paterson. With Paterson, Jarmusch provides a change of pace from the typical Hollywood fare. Jarmusch’s definitive screenwriting and cinematic storytelling styles shine through and reach a new level and harmony in Paterson. As with Coffee and Cigarettes, the film focuses on the mundane, yet, as with Only Lovers Left Alive, the poetic beauty in the mundanity of life is brought to the surface. Paterson’s poetry is not only provided by the poems, written by renown poet Ron Padgett, but also by the simplicity in cinematography and sound.
Paterson (Adam Driver) is a bus driver in the city of Paterson, New Jersey. He lives a quiet simple life with his wife Laura. Both are creative in their own way. While Laura (Golshifteh Farahani) decorates their home in black and white patterns, and dreams of being an artist, a cupcake baking queen, and a country star; Paterson writes poetry. The film follows Paterson for seven days, from the moment he wakes up and gets ready for work, to the evening, as he takes (or gets taken by) his dog Marvin for a walk and gets a single beer at his local bar. Paterson’s life is so full of routine, perhaps this is what enables him to be the poet he is. He lives in a constant trance, between half constructed poems in his mind and the routine tasks of life. Simple things inspire him, like a box of matches he sees on the counter as he eats breakfast and the simple differences he notices amongst the sameness of his life.
Jarmusch once again redefines cinematic romantic love with such humane simplicity. As with Adam and Eve, the main characters of Only Lovers Left Alive, the portrayal of marriage and sexuality in Paterson is so exquisitely subtle and “normal.” Paterson and Laura are portrayed as contradictory and complementary. Paterson loves her artistic extroversion while Laura appreciates Paterson’s internal creativity. She respects his creative process but also encourages him to share his poetry. They share themselves with each other, they tease each other, and support each others endeavors. Their sexuality is not exploited for voyeuristic pleasure, instead it is hinted at and intimate. In these two instances, Jarmusch has written compassionate and healthy relationships that are a wonderfully quiet and healing alternative to the dramatic love typically presented by Hollywood.
Paterson is not spectacle. It is a poem. It has rhythm and repetition. It is an exercise in the practice of Selah. Jarmusch seems to be sending a message encouraging the joie de vivre. Paterson enjoys waking up to watch his wife sleeping, taking notice of the way a match burns, overhearing conversations from the passengers on the bus, drinking his beer, and listening to a young girl’s poetry. Such are the things, so simple, that make him pause and reflect. Paterson is a quiet film that says much. It is a film about being grateful and finding that which nurtures life and the spirit, not just in the grandiose, or special moments in life, but in the most beautifully mundane details of the everyday.
