2018 Cannes Marathon: Paterson

(Winner of the Palm Dog Award to Nellie (posthumous) at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Paterson is the story of the week in the life of a bus driver who writes poetry to let his day go by. The film is a simple story of a man and his simple life as he lives in a small town in New Jersey as writes about what he sees. Starring Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Chasten Harmon, William Jackson Harper. Masatoshi Nagase, and Barry Shabaka Henley. Paterson is an extraordinarily rich film from Jim Jarmusch.

The film is the story of a bus driver from Paterson, New Jersey who drives the same route every day in the course of a week as he has a routine that he does in his job and in his life while he writes poetry about his surroundings and the things he sees in his life. It’s a film with a simple premise as it follows the week in the life of the titular character (Adam Driver) as he also has a wife named Laura (Golshifteh Farahani) who dreams of becoming a country singer and opening her own cupcake store. Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay is largely told in the span of seven days as it follows Paterson driving the same bus route every day as he listens to the different passengers he has and then returns home to see what Laura has done in creating curtains, clothing, and such and then would walk their English bulldog Marvin (Nellie) on the way to a local bar where he chats with its bartender Doc (Barry Shabaka Henley).

During these days at work, he would see different set of twins as well as see a couple argue every once in a while at Doc’s bar as it play into his life that he would write about in his poetry as the poems are written by Ron Padgett which also references the work of William Carlos William who wrote a book of poems after the city. While Paterson is a good poet, he’s reluctant in having them published as he prefers to keep it to himself to emphasize his lack of ambition and just settle for what he has while being supportive of Laura’s many dreams.

Jarmusch’s direction doesn’t bear a lot of visual styles other than emphasizing on repetitious compositions to play into Paterson’s day-to-day routine in the course of a week. Shot on location in Paterson, New Jersey which is a character in the film in the many different street corners as well as the waterfalls including the Great Falls of the Passaic River where Paterson would often eat lunch and write poetry during his lunch break. While Jarmusch would use some wide shots of the entire city and its locations, much of the direction involves him using close-ups and medium shots to play into the intimacy of the bus that Paterson drives as well as the scenes at his home with Laura and the scenes at the bar. Still, Jarmusch’s approach to repetition as the path where Paterson walks to the bus station as he passes by old and abandoned factories along the way as well as the path he would walk Marvin to the bar show his simple routine as there’s something different that happens every once in a while. Even as the weekend approaches where Laura would receive a guitar that she wanted to learn to be a country singer as well as a bake sale that is happening on that Saturday.

While Paterson’s lack of ambitions of having his poems published do emphasize the need to keep his work for himself as he would meet a 10-year old girl who also wrote a poem as she would keep it in a secret notebook. It also showcases the power of poetry when it has someone writing for himself such as a moment late in the film where Paterson meets a Japanese tourist (Masatoshi Nagase) who is at the town due to his interest in poetry and the town itself. Though Paterson may write about ordinary things about what he sees, hears, or remembers, he uses poetry as a way to feel alive rather than express it publicly for vanity. Overall, Jarmusch crafts a tender yet intoxicating film about the week in the life of a poetic bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey.

Cinematographer Frederick Elmes does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward to play into the natural look of the city in the day and night including the low-key lights for the scenes at the bar. Editor Affonso Goncalves does brilliant work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts, superimposed dissolves for the poetry scenes, and some transitional fade-outs. Production designer Mark Friedberg, with set decorator Lydia Marks and art director Kim Jennings, does fantastic work with the interiors of the bar as well as some of the creations that Laura made in the curtains at the home she shares with Paterson.

Costume designer Catherine George does amazing work with the clothes that Laura wears that is very stylish with its emphasis on black-and-white while maintaining a more casual look for the rest of the characters in the film. Sound designer Robert Hein does superb work with the sound in capturing the way a bus would sound when it is turned on as well as other low-key yet sparse textures in many of the film’s location. The film’s music by Carter Logan, Jim Jarmusch, and Squrl is terrific for its ambient-based score that appears in a few scenes to play into Paterson’s sense of wonderment while the rest of the music soundtrack appears largely in scenes in the bar or on location as it include cuts by Teddy Pendergrass, Reuben Wilson, Killer Mike, Pouran, Tammy Wynette, Lester Young, Gary Carter, Bad Medicine, and Jerry Brightman.

The casting by Ellen Lewis and Meghan Rafferty is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as a couple of students talking about anarchy on the bus, Sterling Jerins as a young poet that Paterson meets on his way home from work, Chasten Harmon and William Jackson Harper in their respective roles as Marie and Everett as this bickering couple who frequent at the bar, Rizwan Manji as a co-worker of Paterson in Donny, and Cliff “Method Man” Smith as himself working on a rhyme. Masatoshi Nagase is superb as the Japanese tourist that Paterson meets late in the film who shares his love of poetry as well as the work of William Carlos William. Barry Shabaka Henley is excellent as the bartender Doc as a man who loves to play chess and chat with Paterson about their town and the many wonders of their small town.

Golshifteh Farahani is incredible as Laura as a lively woman with big dreams of being a country singer, making cupcakes, and all sorts of things as someone who is supportive of Paterson’s poetry while wanting to ensure they have a good and thriving life. Finally, there’s Adam Driver in a sensational performance as the titular character as bus driver who drives many people around the town of Paterson as he spends a bit of time writing poetry as well as observe all that is around as it’s a quiet yet endearing performance from Driver.

Paterson is a phenomenal film from Jim Jarmusch that features great performances from Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani. Along with its low-key approach to storytelling, poetic tone, naturalistic visuals, and a soothing score. It’s a film that showcases a week in the life of an ordinary man who proves to be just as fascinating as everyone else around him though prefers to keep it quiet. In the end, Paterson is a spectacular film from Jim Jarmusch.

Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down by Law - Mystery Train - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee and Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - (Gimme Danger) – The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch

© thevoid99 2018

Manchester by the Sea

Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea is the story of a lonely janitor who is asked to raise his nephew following the death of his brother as he copes with his own faults in his life. It’s a film where a man reluctantly steps up to do what is right as well as deal with the demons in his own life. Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol, and Kyle Chandler. Manchester by the Sea is a mesmerizing yet engrossing film from Kenneth Lonergan.

The film is a simple story of a man who learned that his brother died of a heart attack while learning his brother wants him to become his nephew’s guardian. It’s a film that follows this lonely janitor who isn’t just forced to return home and be given the responsibility to watch over his teenage nephew but also cope with the past as he remains troubled by family tragedy. Kenneth Lonergan’s screenplay has narrative that sort of moves back and forth in the life of Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) as he reflects on what he had when he was married to a woman named Randi (Michelle Williams) as they had a family. At the same time, he had a good relationship with his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) and nephew Patrick (Luca Hedges). Yet, something tragic happened that led to Lee and Randi splitting up and Lee moving away from the small town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts into a town near Boston where he works as a janitor.

The script doesn’t just follow Lee’s reluctance to raise Patrick but also Patrick’s own growing pains as he tries to distract himself from the reality over his father’s death. Especially as he is taken aback by his uncle who appears to not really wanting to be involved with him as he considers the option of reaching out to his estranged mother Elise (Gretchen Mol) whom Lee doesn’t like at all as she was an alcoholic and drug addict that Joe had to separate from. It adds to Lee’s struggle in wanting to do right to his late brother but also contend with the demons in his own life. Even as Lee’s attempt to connect with others has him wanting to be alone and not be reminded of the past where he continuously struggles with loss and wanting to do what is right.

Lonergan’s direction is definitely majestic in terms of the imagery that he creates as well as being shot almost entirely on location in Manchester-by-the-Sea which is a major character in the film as well as other small towns in Massachusetts. Though Lonergan doesn’t really go for anything that is visually-striking, he does present that is still simple in its composition but also has something more in terms of his observation of what is going on. Much of the film is shot during the wintertime as it adds a lot to not just the visuals but also in some of the situations the characters have to cope with. While Lonergan would use wide shots to play into the location and the beauty of wintertime in Massachusetts, he would more favor something intimate with the medium shots and close-ups. Especially in the former as it play into some of the awkward moments Lee would have in his attempts to connect with people such as the mother of one of Patrick’s girlfriends.

Lonergan’s direction is also quite loose as it has bits of humor but also a sense of something real into the world that Patrick is in as he plays hockey and is also in a garage band with friends and one of his girlfriends. The flashbacks of Lee’s life with Randi and their family is also quite loose as it play into the good times as well as what happened that would destroy everything for Lee. There is also something striking about how Lee presents himself in his isolation as it has some truth into that sense of loss where Lonergan’s framing is quite entrancing. Even in moments where he attempts to connect showcase someone that is quite damaged and still trying to get himself back on track. Its conclusion isn’t just about the reality of what Lee has to do for Patrick but also for himself as well as get help from the people who can be relied on in an often complicated world. Overall, Lonergan creates a ravishing yet somber film about a man dealing with the responsibility to taking care of his nephew following the death of his brother.

Cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography from some of the sunny exteriors of the locations along with more gray and snowy look as well as the way some of the nighttime interior/exteriors are shot and lit. Editor Jennifer Lame does excellent work with the editing as it play into some of the drama and presentation of the flashbacks with the usage of jump-cuts and other rhythmic cuts. Production designer Ruth De Jong, with set decorator Florencia Martin and art director Jourdan Henderson, does fantastic work with the look of the single room that Lee lives in Quincy to the home of his brother and the boat they have.

Costume designer Melissa Toth does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual to play into the look of the wintertime. Sound designer Jacob Ribicoff does superb work with the sound as it play into not just the atmosphere of some of the locations but also in the way it is mixed to play into how music is heard on location or things that play into the drama. The film’s music by Lesley Barber is brilliant for its somber yet orchestral-based score that play into melancholic tone of the film while music supervisor Linda Cohen creates a soundtrack that features a lot of opera music as well as a mixture of rock and soul music to play into the locations or what is heard on the radio.

The casting by Douglas Aibel is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Ben O’Brien as the young Patrick, Stephen Henderson as Lee’s boss early in the film, Tom Kemp as Lee and Joe’s father in the flashback scenes, Chloe Dixon and Ellie Teeves as Lee and Randi’s daughters from the flashbacks, Josh Hamilton as Joe’s lawyer Wes, Erica McDermott as a boat yard boss who doesn’t want to give Lee a job for some unknown reasons, Kara Hayward and Anna Baryshnikov in their respective roles as two of Patrick’s girlfriends in Silvie and Sandy, Liam McNeil as Randi’s new husband, and Tate Donovan as Patrick’s hockey coach. C.J. Wilson is fantastic as longtime family friend George who helps out Lee and Patrick while being someone who knows about the family boat and how it works. Heather Burns is wonderful as Sandy’s mother Jill who is wondering what Sandy and Patrick are doing while trying to flirt with Lee as their lone meeting ends up being awkward. Matthew Broderick is superb as Rodney as Elsie’s new fiancée who is a devout Christian that Patrick tries to get to know as it ends up being very awkward. Gretchen Mol is excellent as Elsie as Patrick’s estranged mother who is infamous for her substance abuse where she responds to Patrick’s email as she invites to a lunch with Rodney that is just very uncomfortable.

Kyle Chandler is brilliant as Joe Chandler as a man that is the embodiment of responsibility and care as he does whatever to help Lee as well as be a good man until he is stricken by a rare heart disease. Lucas Hedges is amazing as Patrick as Joe’s son who doesn’t try to cope with the sudden death of his father but also wanting to stay home to be with friends and his father’s boat as well as wonder why his uncle is reluctant to look after him. Michelle Williams is incredible as Randi as Lee’s ex-wife who was a woman that Lee loved and cared for until tragedy happened as she becomes estranged until she hears about Joe’s death as Williams is just devastatingly radiant in a key scene she has late in the film. Finally, there’s Casey Affleck in a phenomenal performance as Lee Chandler as a man that had everything and lost it all as he tries to cope with the loss of his brother as well as the responsibility he has to bear for his nephew where Affleck displays that air of restraint and anguish into a man trying to isolate himself from the world as well as struggle to do what is right for his family.

Manchester by the Sea is a magnificent film from Kenneth Lonergan that features great performances from Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and Lucas Hedges. Along with a brilliant supporting cast, an effective screenplay, gorgeous visuals, and a mesmerizing music soundtrack, it’s a film that explores not just grief but also a man coping with responsibility and the need to do right for his family. In the end, Manchester by the Sea is a rapturous film from Kenneth Lonergan.

Kenneth Lonergan Films: You Can Count on Me - Margaret (2011 film)

© thevoid99 2016

Moonrise Kingdom

Directed by Wes Anderson and written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom is the story of two 12-year old kids who run away as parents, a scout master, a police chief, and a social services official go on the search for them in a New England island. The film marks a first for Anderson as it is set in a non-modern period as the story is set in the mid-1960s. The film also explores Anderson’s themes of childlike innocence and adults lost in their own unhappiness. With a cast that includes Anderson regulars Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, the film also stars Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, and introducing Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. Moonrise Kingdom is an enriching and heartwarming film from Wes Anderson.

In an island on the coast of New England, a skillful orphan boy named Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) has just resigned his post as a Khaki Scout leader by fleeing the camp as his scout master Randy Ward (Edward Norton) is surprised by the news. Meanwhile, a young girl named Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward) also ran away from home as the two young lovers meet as they trek towards a legendary trail around the island. Suzy’s parents in Walt (Bill Murray) and Laura (Frances McDormand) learn that Suzy has ran away as they admit that she’s been behaving very strange as of late as local police chief Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) heads the search. With Ward heading his scout troops to find Sam, things get more complicated when Laura finds out that Sam and Suzy had been communicating for a year through pen-pal letters while learning where they’re going.

After finding them, the adults hope to split up Sam and Suzy as Sharp feels conflicted over what he’s doing as his affair with Laura is also complicating matters. When Ward tells Sam that he can’t go back to his foster parents, he is horrified when a Social Services official (Tilda Swinton) wants to take Sam to a juvenile facility which also upsets Sharp. Help suddenly arrives in the most unlikely form for Sam and Suzy as they run away again leaving the adults to go on a search for them leading to climatic moment during a terrifying storm.

The film is about two young kids who fall in love as they run away leaving a group of adults on the search for them as they each deal with their own issues. That is pretty much it as the film does explore a lot of Wes Anderson’s themes involving adults lost in their melancholia as well as uncertainty in their roles. What makes this film different from a lot of Anderson’s previous efforts is the fact that it centers around two very troubled kids who feel like people don’t get them except each other where they fall in love and go on an adventure.

The screenplay that Anderson and Roman Coppola concoct is an exploration into the lives of these characters as Sam and Suzy are these two kids who don’t live happy home lives while they’re also not treated well by other kids. Because they feel connected by their alienation as well as feeling out of place with everyone, they go in this adventure where they want to make their own rules. This would cause a small group of adults to get together and find them where they each have to face their own issues. Scout Master Ward is just trying to create a great troop to impress a superior (Harvey Keitel) as he also has to learn what it takes to be a true leader. Captain Sharp is a man who feels alone as he’s having an affair with Laura Bishop that happens due to an unhappy marriage to Walt as he is lost in his own melancholia as he is aware that something isn’t right.

The narrative is quite simple as there’s moments where Anderson would find ways to break from convention and add his own quirks to the story. This quirk would be in the form of a narrator (Bob Balaban) who only appears in a few moments to discuss the locations and some of its historical (although fictional) aspects to create an atmosphere. Yet, there’s one scene where he becomes part of the story where the narrator appears to calm things down where he would reveal something to advance the story. The script also has Biblical references to the story of Noah as it would become prominent in a climatic moment in the film’s third act as Anderson and Coppola create a truly dazzling screenplay.

Anderson’s direction is typical of his work in his approach to framing yet there’s a sense of restraint to the way Anderson create scenes. Shot on location in Rhode Island with 16mm film blown-up into 35mm, there’s a richness to the way the film looks as Anderson definitely is looking for something that is close to making something that comes from the 1960s or the 1970s. While it’s a film that is about the innocence of youth and the complication of adulthood, Anderson does find ways to have the actors be framed a certain way or to shoot them in close-ups to establish these characters without explaining much.

Another key element to Anderson’s direction is the way he creates a world that is unique such as the books that Suzy carries or the paintings that Sam makes. Anderson is aware of who these kids are as he follows them in their adventures with gorgeous wide and tracking shots along with some hand-held work. Other parts of Anderson’s direction that is entrancing to watch includes a montage of how Sam and Suzy met that includes an amazing play scene in the background where it would set up ideas of what would come in the film’s third act. Overall, Anderson creates a truly intoxicating and exhilarating film that definitely ranks as one of his great films.

Cinematographer Robert Yeomen does incredible work with the film‘s gorgeous and ravishing photography that is filled with amazing color schemes for many of the forest locations in the daytime to some amazing interior scenes at night as it presents some of Yeomen‘s best work. Editor Andrew Weisblum does brilliant work with the editing such as the pen-pal letter readings, some of the films‘ action sequences, and some effective dramatic cutting to help create a mood in those scenes. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, with set decorator Kris Moran and art director Gerald Sullivan, does amazing work with the set pieces such as the Bishop home that includes a lighthouse, the tent that Sam carries, and various other objects that includes some artwork by Eric Chase Anderson.

Costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimome does superb work with the costumes from the design of the Khaki Scout uniforms to the pink dress that Suzy wears along with the animal costumes in the play scene. Visual effects supervisor Dan Schrecker does nice work with the minimal visual effects that was used such as the effects in the climatic thunderstorm sequence. Sound editor Craig Henighan does terrific work with the sound such as the way sound is created in the brief play scene as well as the intimate moments in the woods.

The film’s score by Alexandre Desplat is marvelous for score that includes lush orchestral arrangements with vocal choirs in the background and many instruments as it‘s playful and dramatic. The film’s soundtrack is supervised by Randall Poster as it features many classical pieces by Benjamin Britten that plays to many of the film’s dramatic elements along with additional classical and operatic pieces by Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Camille Saint-Saens. Other pieces of music includes the country music of Hank Williams, drum cadence music by Mark Mothersbaugh, and the 60s French pop of Francoise Hardy as it’s among one of Anderson’s great soundtracks.

The casting by Douglas Aibel is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it features notable small roles from Neal Huff as air pilot Jed, Harvey Keitel as the scout leader Commander Pierce, Bob Balaban as the film’s narrator, Larry Pine as Sam’s foster dad, and Jason Schwartzman as a scout leader named Cousin Ben. In the roles of the Bishop brothers, there’s Jake Ryan, Tanner Flood, and Wyatt Ralff as they’re very funny while L.J. Foley, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Charlie Kilgore, Lucas Hedges, Gabriel Rush, Tommy Nelson, and Chandler Frantz are superb as the other Khaki Scout troopers. Tilda Swinton is excellent as the Social Services official who tries to impose her rules on what to do as well as reveal the fate Sam might play once she takes him.

Edward Norton is wonderful as the clueless but caring Scout Master Randy Ward who tries to figure out why Sam fled as he also has to deal with his own flaws as a scout master. Frances McDormand is superb as Suzy’s mother Laura who tries to deal with Suzy’s troubled behavior as well as the fact that she is going through a failed marriage and an affair that’s on the outs. Bill Murray is great as Suzy’s dad Walt who is trying to deal with the secrets that is going on in his family while realizing that some of it might be his own fault as he tries to find a way to fix it. Bruce Willis is incredible as the police chief Captain Ward who tries to deal with his own loneliness as well as the fact that he isn’t the bet authority figure out there as Willis brings a real great sense of restraint to a man that just wants to do what is right.

The film’s best performances easily goes to newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward in their respective roles of Sam and Suzy. Gilman brings a lot of energy and real-world weariness to a young boy who feels alone as he falls for this young girl while finding two unlikely friends in adults like Scout Master Ward and Captain Sharp. Kara Hayward has an air of radiance as an equally-troubled girl who feels lost in her dysfunctional family as she wants an escape. Gilman and Hayward together have a chemistry that is entrancing to watch in the way they interact as well as display a romance that is endearing to watch as they’re the film’s major highlight.

Moonrise Kingdom is an enchanting film from Wes Anderson. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast along with amazing technical work and a ravishing soundtrack. It’s a film that definitely has everything Anderson fans want and more while it’s also very accessible for the way it portrays young love and adult dysfunction. In the end, Moonrise Kingdom is a masterfully-crafted and sensational film from Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Isle of Dogs - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson

Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) - (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

© thevoid99 2012