"My mama used to say that America's the big melting pot. You bring it to a boil and all the scum rises to the top."
Down By Law is an early film from the acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch. Shot in gritty black and white, Down By Law has the familiar look and style of a Jarmusch film. The film follows three men (Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Begnini) who cross paths in a New Orleans prison. Each man is a criminal in their own right but they each are separately serving unjust sentences. We meet Waits and Lurie first, playing the roles of Zach and Jack respectively. They have nothing to do with one another at the beginning of the film but when the end up in prison, both having been set up, they become kindred rivals and eventually become brothers. Roberto Begnini's character, of the same first name, is a wide-eyed Italian gambler who speaks broken English and makes references to American poets. The relationship between the three is bumpy at best but they learn to live with and depend on each other. When Roberto discovers a way to escape the three jump on the opportunity, however, escape through the swamps of Louisiana is harder than they had anticipated. Pride and the resistance of meaningful relationships between male characters is a big theme of the movie, one which plays out all the way through to the very bittersweet ending.
The film is largely set in a prison cell and in the cramped swamp land of the deep south, giving it a claustrophobic feel. The viewer is sharing the sentence with the men, with only the dialogue of the prisoners to keep them company. The acting of the three becomes very important and luckily the performances are top notch, even with the amateur status of Tom Waits as an actor. The black and white photography is dirty in quality but in juxtaposition the film is beautifully shot. The style of the film is subdued and cool and the acting of Waits and Lurie lends to this. Despite the film's subdued feel I was never bored, I laughed a lot and would rate this highly in entertainment value.My Rating: 8.5/10
