Down By Law

Jack (John Lurie) and Zack (Tom Waits) are a pair of worn down New Odeans bums, not really doing anything much, but just doing enough to land themselves in a prison cell together. It is here that they encounter Roberto, an Italian wise-guy, who keeps the pair duly entertained with his reminiscences and movie quotes and eventually leads them to freedom.

As in Stranger Than Paradise, Mystery Train, and Night on Earth, Jarmusch feels compelled to self-consciously order time, dividing Down By Law into three distinct narrative portions.

Perhaps more accessible than Stranger Than Paradise because of its emphasis on humour, Down By Law is still recognisable as classic Jarmusch, 'off beat' being the clichéd but undeniably appropriate term to describe its style. It is part thriller, part prison movie and part comedy, the laughs laid on thick once you've settled into the swing of things.

Waits, the musician who acts his songs as opposed to singing them, provides the superb score which is essential to the creation of an appropriate atmosphere.

As usual, Jarmusch comes up with something stylish, funny, and strangely touching.

Review by Iain Harral
Taken from EUFS Programme 1995-96