Paterson Movie Review

 Paterson is a 2016 drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and distributed by Amazon Studios. Set in Paterson New Jersey we follow the protagonist of the story, a bus driver and aspiring poet ironically also named Paterson played by Adam Driver.  All in the span of one week we see Paterson live his daily routine life over and over again, he wakes up early and goes to work, he writes some poetry in between his breaks, after work comes home to his lovely wife who is a baker and aspiring country singer, at night he walks her dog and goes to the bar to have a beer and small chatter with the bartender and other individuals who attend. Paterson is divergent from most films, even though it’s categorized as drama the drama feels free of any real intense or melodramatic drama. This is a fable about celebrating everyday life with everyday people who we come across in our own lives, but don't usually give much thought about, yet it has such an interwoven present while showcasing a form of essence and that is pretty much the whole story. 

If anyone is familiar with Jim Jarmusch’s work he has gone on to write and direct films such as Dead Man, Broken Flowers, and Night on Earth. He intends to write non-traditional narratives with characters who are lone adventurers and don’t seek out much help from others but are genuine caring people. This could end up hurting the film if our protagonist is uncompelling but he makes a wise choice by casting someone who is charismatic and charming like Adam Driver. While the character of Paterson is all of such things he has a passion for writing poetry but decides not to show many others his work, even his wife at times who encourages him to publish them. The film really takes its time making us care about Paterson and his ordinary life style, Jim also puts us into Paterson’s subconscious and how he views the world through his poetry to the point where it feels very observational when we here interactions between friends, family, and coworkers exchange dialogue with one another on Paterson’s bus. Even when Paterson has conversations with others he is a tender individual and is very engaged while talking with others and learning about them while making us all feel like an observer with him, all while still supporting his wife with her dreams and goals in life. 

There really is no epic finale or grant resolution by the end of the film, but all it takes for Paterson to keep going on with his life and expanding his poetry beyond himself are the subtle surroundings that follow him throughout. For some of us living our daily routine life cycle can be viewed as being trapped. For Paterson it’s a source of inspiration to keep writing no matter how many victories or defeats life may throw at us and for anyone else it should be to take pride with what we do and have in our lives and try to better ourselves. This film is very down to earth and I would encourage this to anyone looking for a heartwarming experience (recommended with a significant other) looking to celebrate the beauty in life. Some may see this as slow paced or unclear of a direct message, I find this extremely refreshing and straight forward. There is only so much any of us can take of the typical blockbuster tropes and cliches that are being shown constantly on screen, it’s nice to see a change of pace every now and then such as this underrated gem that is Paterson.

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By Danny Manna @Cinemanna24- Nerdthusiast Content Creator