Paterson

Finally, a movie named after a man I love. That alien movie PAUL from a few years ago doesn't count. PATERSON stars Adam Driver as the titular character, a bus driver in Paterson, NJ who writes poetry in his spare time and counts poet William Carlos Williams (author of the book... "Paterson") among his favorites.

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, PATERSON unfolds at a very Jarmusch-y pace. That is to say, it's kinda slow, takes time to linger on shots that make normal stuff seem beautiful and has lots of self contained scenes that begin and end with fade ins and fade outs.

That's not to try to make it sound boring, though. The pace isn't for everyone, but PATERSON is a very funny and touching movie about a week in one man's life as he copes with a monotonous routine. As played by Driver, Paterson is usually poker-faced so it's hard to say whether he resents this routine, is indifferent to it, or embraces it. I guess he does all three at different points of the movie, like most of the rest of us in real life.

He lives with his wife (Golshifteh Farahani) who is very supportive of his poetry (and his routines) and has ambitions to learn guitar (in a nice touch, she's inspired by guitar virtuoso Esteban of infomercial fame) as well as strike it rich at the local market with her cupcakes. She spends her days at home decorating the house in her signature black and white style. When Paterson gets home from a day of listening to his passengers' conversations on his bus and writing poetry in between, he takes Marvin the dog out for a walk and then has a beer at a local bar where he touches base with the old bartender, Doc (Barry Shabaka Henley) and the two observe the love lives of the other patrons.

This all sounds very mundane on the surface and I suppose that's what's so attractive about it. You can tell Jarmusch, as the observant filmmaker, is viewing things with sympathy and a sense of humor, and that is projected through Paterson's eyes so that you're not just watching the dry daily movements of regular people, but instead getting a peek into the little things that add up to make life special and important for very specific individuals.

I went into this movie suspecting I'd like it, since I've enjoyed several of Jarmusch's earlier films (BROKEN FLOWERS, GHOST DOG, etc.) and since Driver is always an interesting actor to watch. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit there's also a part of me that's specifically sympathetic to a guy who wants to be a writer but is driving a bus instead.