This follows a week in the life of a Paterson, New Jersey, bus driver, coincidentally named Paterson. One criterion that separates the best movies from the rest for me is whether I lose track of time while watching. That did not happen for me with this movie. One theme, a theme that is true for much of the time for a lot of our lives, is that every day is the same but every day is different. There was too much weight given to "everyday is the same" in this movie.
Paterson writes poems and records his poems in a notebook. Given that poetry plays a central role in Patterson's life, it plays a central role in the movie. Unfortunately it did not capture my imagination, since Paterson's poetry was as pedestrian as his life. The poetry for the movie was written by New York poet Ron Padgett. The problem I have had with Padgett's poetry is that he takes a common everyday experience, writes a brief prose summary of the event, and calls it poetry. For example, consider the poem that begins:
We have plenty of matches in our house.
We keep them on hand always.
Currently our favorite brand is Ohio Blue Tip,
though we used to prefer Diamond brand.
That was before we discovered Ohio Blue Tip matches.
They are excellently packaged, sturdy
little boxes with dark and light blue and white labels
with words lettered in the shape of a megaphone,
...
If that stirs your soul, then you will be much more engaged with this movie than I was. I suppose that Padgett was a good choice for the role of putting the words on the screen, since they make it believable that Paterson, an ordinary person, could have written them.
I appreciate the risk that Jarmusch is taking in making a movie like this. I just wish it had been more engaging. I did like the later scene that recounted a random meeting between Paterson and a Japanese poet whom he encounters on a public park bench. But the Japanese man intuits that Paterson is a poet? Really? Introducing the Japanese poet was only an artifice to help bring the story to a conclusion with the gift of the blank notebook.
Given that a "dog ate my homework" scene is the emotional peak, be prepared for somewhat of a slog to get through this. It seems that an attempt was made to drain this of anything that might move it beyond the pedestrian: the camera work, the music, the acting, the color palette, the story--all pedestrian.
Paterson writes poems and records his poems in a notebook. Given that poetry plays a central role in Patterson's life, it plays a central role in the movie. Unfortunately it did not capture my imagination, since Paterson's poetry was as pedestrian as his life. The poetry for the movie was written by New York poet Ron Padgett. The problem I have had with Padgett's poetry is that he takes a common everyday experience, writes a brief prose summary of the event, and calls it poetry. For example, consider the poem that begins:
We have plenty of matches in our house.
We keep them on hand always.
Currently our favorite brand is Ohio Blue Tip,
though we used to prefer Diamond brand.
That was before we discovered Ohio Blue Tip matches.
They are excellently packaged, sturdy
little boxes with dark and light blue and white labels
with words lettered in the shape of a megaphone,
...
If that stirs your soul, then you will be much more engaged with this movie than I was. I suppose that Padgett was a good choice for the role of putting the words on the screen, since they make it believable that Paterson, an ordinary person, could have written them.
I appreciate the risk that Jarmusch is taking in making a movie like this. I just wish it had been more engaging. I did like the later scene that recounted a random meeting between Paterson and a Japanese poet whom he encounters on a public park bench. But the Japanese man intuits that Paterson is a poet? Really? Introducing the Japanese poet was only an artifice to help bring the story to a conclusion with the gift of the blank notebook.
Given that a "dog ate my homework" scene is the emotional peak, be prepared for somewhat of a slog to get through this. It seems that an attempt was made to drain this of anything that might move it beyond the pedestrian: the camera work, the music, the acting, the color palette, the story--all pedestrian.