Review: In Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Paterson,’ a Meditative Flow of Words Into Poetry

Late to this party, but so glad I attended. Please explain the many twins.

The negative views have detected many failings. They would probably not agree that their views might be informed by a certain expertise, or maintain that is quite proper. Beginners might be willing to undergo some discomfort to see where things are going. This is a couple who live in relation to each other and their artistic efforts. I see a comparison of devotion to art and devotion to God. Money and fame recede. A caring life is possible, even if one has to go as far as Patterson. Only believe.

I loved every minute of this movie, ermm film. I love that Jim went to the effort to tell people that this is not a movie where the bus explodes in a fireball...be honest, didn't you half expect that when the volt meter was jumping around. It was so thoughtful of him to say all that to us... to help us open up to this island, this paradise, this Jersey.

The visual poetry reminded me of Almodovar's compositions. Those twins, the patrons. The broken hearted man.

I give away most of my movies but i keep all of JJs. rite next to 2001 and Treasure of the SMadre. now i'm going to settle myself down with Coffee and Cigarettes

I was hoping an asteroid would hit the earth and end this film. What a bore! at least we got a few nice shots of the Great Falls.

Perhaps Jarmusch has some different fish to fry here. While Laura seems to be "frivolous", it is she that makes art everyday whether it is shower curtains, cupcakes or a quick uptake on the guitar. She does it so effortlessly that it seems like she's a dilettante, but her successes mount up every day. Paterson on the other hand doesn't really work at being a poet, other than catching brief snippets in the sacred notebook. He doesn't want or see the need to share his work, perhaps for fear of failure or the self loathing of being "Paterson."

His "art" is fragile and fleeting and when left unattended ends up in scattered pieces, the proverbial "dog's breakfast." One wonders if Jarmusch isn't having some naughty fun with the whole notion of creating serious art. One things for sure, Laura is going to end up a heck of a country star.

What a great Sunday matinee. I enjoyed the storytelling in this movie; the pace and feel sort of reminded me of Jarmusch's first feature, "Stranger Than Paradise." Keep telling your stories, Jim. Greatly appreciated.

And the comments. What a great NYT feature. All of the likes, dislikes, loving and hating. It's like heading to the coffee shop after the movie and enjoying a lively, sometimes heated, discussion. Thanks to everyone.

saw paterson today and interesting to read peoples comments here.. no there are no car crashes, explosions or over wrought acting just a quiet movie about people in an urban setting. and if paterson was as close to the city as hoboken or williamsburg it might be another gentrifed overpriced pretentious mess. interesting to pass through a lot of these smaller industrial towns that have fallen on hard times and know that still there is a soul to them even though they might not be as trendy as the hamptons or the moneyed neighborhoods of nyc...

O)h my what a pretentious dim=-witted movie. What is celebrated here, a vacuous life of a woman with no children who doesn't work? A bus driver who writes very poor poetry? A couple with no outside life so that even going to a movie and dinner becomes a major do? And this is "life"? This is what we are, what we celebrate...the quiet "dignity" of these "nice" people? Please. I've seen better art house movies by teenagers that this tendentious piece of twaddle.

I saw this film yesterday in a small art-house theater. We purposely didn't read any reviews, and I'm glad we didn't. I liked a lot about it -- the poetry, the warm relationship between Driver and Farahani, the easy friendships he had in his neighborhood and at work, and the portrait it paints of one man's life. There were significant oddities -- at least six different sets of twins appear in the film after Paterson and Laura talk about having twins in one of their early-morning snuggles, and the fact that Paterson runs into poets who share his sensibility. I agree that Farahani's part, while intriguing, could have been more deeply explored. In the end, she reminded me of the young French woman who played Bruce Willis's girlfriend in Pulp Fiction -- charming but not particularly inspiring.

Sorry - I normally love Jim Jarmusch - but the Emperor that is PATERSON is naked. The film plays like a parody of art films.

The movie is best watched while one is sleeping through it.
A total waste!

There simply must be an element of critique to these overly positive comments. On many occasions I had to restrain myself from laughing out loud in embarrassment because this film was that bad. The atrocious acting, the predictably cheesy (not ironic in any way) lines and forced screenplay has me wondering what world people are living in if they truly identify with this film. There must be even more of a class divide in this country than I had previously imagined. Working class people simply do not act, look or speak like they do in this film. There wasn’t a hint of authentic emotion in a single character with the exception of Driver. I have seen better acting in high school performances.

Driver’s reading of his poems in a way that’s supposed to sound as though he’s reading aloud as he’s writing creates such an awkward feeling and quickly becomes annoying. Laura’s over the top ‘artsy’ portrayal lacks validity and makes Hollywood cliche seem genuine. The scene at the bar is staged beyond belief. After the second time Driver confronts the mailbox with peculiarity I almost lost it. But then he does it again and again.

How can I be swept away by the deeper meanings this film is supposed to leave me with when the delivery is amateur at best? This is simply the case of a supposedly magnificent film maker producing an absolute dud and not a single critique (at least that I can find) willing to go against the grain in fear that they’ll be perceived as someone that didn’t get it.

What a delightful ride I had this afternoon eavesdropping over the shoulders of Adam Driver, as he trolled the streets of Patterson N.J. I also enjoyed being an observer of his muse Laura, Ms Farhani. Adam Driver seems so credible in this roll. How could I not love Marvin the English Bull Dog. who growls little but astutely observes. Doc and the patrons at the neighborhood bar add a reality to the neighborhood and to this buss-mans day. It is a quiet film that deserves serious attention and thanks to Jim Jarmush for his vision. Life has become stressful lately and I needed to get away from hyper-news for the quiet reflections of Adam, poet Carlos Williams and a little bit of Hopper-esque Patterson NJ

Just saw it in downtown Paterson--great to walk back home through the same streets pictured in the film.

One (throwaway) moment that jumped off the screen was the picture of Paterson in a decorated uniform. He's a vet. The dimension it added made the character's humility even more resonant.

What I took away most about this wonderful film, apart from the beautiful words and the truths they evoke, was its kindness. Dargis got it exactly right in calling it "deceptively simple".

An old and very dear friend of mine died yesterday morning. I went to see the film yesterday evening, and I left with a smile in my heart.

Although life can appear mundane and repetitive for those with the inner eye it can be full of wonder and beauty. From the mystery of the tilting mail box, to the young developing poetess engaged in a chance conversation, to the dramas playing out in a small dark bar, to Paterson's artistically driven wife turning their apartment and her wardrobe into swirling circles; the movie possesses a quiet charm that is totally engaging and rare in today's deluge of loud blockbusters.

I expected little, going only because it was somehow about poetry and because, well, Adam Driver. But I was blown away by this movie. So much in this charming and beautiful is understated, left for you to notice or not. The frequent references to Williams and tiny references to O Hara, the wonderful little girl (and Paterson's undramatic care taking) the inter-racial but no-big-deal relationships in the bar.
Go see it while it's still around.

There are artists, and there are critics. The former create, to express an idea or an image. The latter deconstruct, analyze, judge. The movie Paterson is about the former. Manohla Dargis is about the latter. See Paterson and skip the review.

This is not a narrative, it's as Ms. Darghis mentioned, a meditation. life passes by and we watch it, thru the dreams and creations of the characters.
Finally, there is one dramatic moment that impacts the bus driver. Can his creation be recreated? Of course, if not in the same manner.
I feel Mr. Jamusuch has made this film before, with more edge and humor.

Thank you for this review, which gives me creative inspiration for how to survive the venial squalor of the the incoming Trump years. I will see this movie.

a typically excellent review by manhola dargis. i will be sure to see it. but why did it not appear in print in the friday edition of the times? is there no more reason for me to purchase that more and more empty paper - but there are lots of pictures! and why did it take me so long to find it online, buried as it was after endless twaddle about the recent sad deaths of debbie reynolds and carrie fisher? is the times trying to wean its readers of any critical comment? change in journalism is inevitable today, but maybe when newspapers deviate too much from their essential natures there is no more need to buy them.

As the French say about Jarmusch, the last American poet.