Paterson & Julie and the Phantoms

Jim Jarmusch's PATERSON is not about legalised corruption at the hands of this disgraceful Tory government but is in fact a tone poem about a bus driver-poet by that name who lives in the city of Paterson, New Jersey. Paterson gets up at about the same time every day, eats his breakfast and walks to the bus depot where he works. He drives his shift, listens to the conversations happening around him then at lunch writes poetry in his notebook inspired by the works of his idol William Carlos Williams while sitting on a bench at his fortress of solitude, the Great Falls of the Passaic River. His evenings consist of eating some dubious dish concocted by his wife Laura whilst experiencing her latest artistic endeavour, being taken for a walk by Marvin, their pet bulldog and having a beer at Shades Bar where he chats to owner Doc who loses to himself at chess.  That's it, the whole movie. Essentially what I've written above is as big a deal as Sidey's horrible NO TIME TO DIE spoiler was and yet somehow this managed to be the most divisive movie we've reviewed on the podcast so far.  In retrospect there are more than a few clues that it might be. First is the general idea of the thing which might just set off some folks’ pretentious bullshit alarm too loudly to ignore. Then there is the admittedly slightly puzzling relationship between Paterson and Laura, who fulfils his role of muse but also requires plenty of indulgence or assistance, depending on how you see it (personally I didn't think a great deal about their relationship; it didn't necessarily feel authentic but was in keeping with the general resonance of the movie). There's the 'nothing happens and it's all a bit boring' view, the first part being essentially true at least by common movie going standards and the second part being a valid subjective personal experience. I found there was always something interesting to look at or listen to: Adam Driver has an incredible face which is always compelling to look at. He's deliberately underacting against the backdrop of an already understated script, and we rarely experience emotion from Paterson other than dry amusement making him sometimes seem unknowable, and yet in his passion for poetry his everyman struggle for recognition and meaning feels true and real. This one absolutely polarized us; Peter enraged both by the general navel gazing and whatever he was projecting on to the relationship between Paterson and his wife. Sidey fell asleep, Dan thought it might have gone over your head and no one knows what Reegs was talking about, least of all himself. JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS sees the teen grunge band Sunset Curve dying after eating dodgy street food then somehow resurrected 25 years later when Julie Molina, a high school musician struggling to make music after the death of her mother, plays the bands CD. That's already the biggest plot hole right there; most thirteen-year-olds would sooner ignore it as a coaster than know how to physically install some media in order to listen to it. Anyway, with the teen band being 17 in 1995, this is expertly pitched to stimulate our collective nostalgia gland for the nihilistic grunge infused pop culture of the mid-90's which would have undoubtedly despised this cynical cash-in. This is actually well done, with at least two of the Dads enjoying the audacity and potential of the premise and admiring the talent of the leads.Oh and there's a Top 5 Movie buses too, which might just be the best bit of the show. We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. Try us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad DadsYou can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads