FILM REVIEW: Down by Law (1986)

Part of the Jim Jarmusch ‘All About the Masters’ Series

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When a group of people are caught in a rough situation that there’s no getting out of anytime soon, there’s a unique bond that forms between said people that no other set of circumstances could ever recreate. If I may use my own experiences as an example; I remember with great (if somewhat morbid) fondness my days in basic military training and all of the BSing, joking, and reminiscing that was vocally exchanged between us trainees in those small frames of time between the harshness of the experience. Eventually, we all got out and went about our lives, rarely reaching back out to each other (if at all), but it’s almost like there’s no need to reach back out – the bond that formed in those days was so strong, it can never be broken.

Down by Law, Jarmusch’s 1986 follow-up to his landmark Stranger Than Paradise, recaptures this bond wonderfully. Bolstered by three remarkable lead performances, Down by Law is a film that, while enjoyable, feels somewhat padded in between its highlights.

It seems like it’s going to be just another night in the gritty Louisiana streets this evening – at least that’s what pimp Jack (John Lurie) and unemployed DJ Zack (Tom Waits) were probably thinking at first. Little do they know that their night is not going to be spent on the streets, but in a jail cell, as they are both set up and framed for crimes they did not commit. Unsurprisingly, it’s a rough time, and it doesn’t help that neither Jack nor Zack are particularly fond of each other.

Things take an interesting turn when the two inmates are joined by a third – Roberto (Roberto Benigni), an Italian immigrant who may not be as innocent as his cellmates. He carries on with a boisterousness that may be irritating from time to time, but still lightens up the mood of the drab cell regardless. Besides, with Roberto’s insatiable spirit, the three now have the will to do the unthinkable…escape incarceration into the bayou right outside.

Even if this film was a complete failure otherwise, it would be worth watching alone for its three leads. Lurie and Waits both have a gritty, rough-edged persona to them, but in very different ways, and they manage to feed off of each other’s uniquely-branded grit personas and the result is a duo that is wonderful to witness go from enemies to allies (I dare you to tell me that the final scene on the fork in the road doesn’t make you smile). And then there’s Benigni, to which there’s no denying that he completely steals the show. Granted, the kinetic energy on display in Down by Law is about what you’d expect, but also keep in mind that he was virtually unknown to us back in ’86.

Fret not, though, as Down by Law is a solid movie overall. Though the plot sounds like your typical escape movie, c’mon, now; did Jarmusch ever do something typical? In Down by Law, Jarmusch is more interested in the moments in between the plot points (all interluded with terrific music by Waits and Lurie); the card games and cigarettes, reminiscent conversations about life on the other side of the bars, even the occasional fist fight, and it all works to wonderful effect, as the audience begins to feel like a member of their pack; when they’re elated, we’re; when they’re stir crazy, we’re stir crazy. I was so involved that I found myself chanting along with the trio during the famous “I scream, you scream” scene.

That said, Down by Law still doesn’t completely grip me. The first act feels incredibly bloated, in spite of some terrifically textured shots of the roughest parts of urban Louisiana. Once we get the idea of the two men we’ll be hanging around with the rest of the movie, the movie still dwells on and on before anything really happens. It’s one thing if there’s something cool or some interesting dialogue going on, but there’s very little of that in the first act, and it drags the film down with it before anything really begins to happen.

Luckily, the jail sequence makes the wait worth it overall, but the escape sequence feels like a missed opportunity. We have these three strong personalities, and it would be great to see them plot something as ridiculous as breaking out of incarceration, as well as to see them actually pull it off. Not present here. As a matter of fact, the escape just kind of happens. Granted, it does inspire a hearty chuckle when it happens considering just how unexpected it is, but it could have been so much more than we actually got.

I’m still yet to see four of his movies at the time I’m writing this, but so far, Jarmusch has not made a bad movie (with the exception of Permanent Vacation, which I’m more than willing to forgive); just films where style and a collage of ideas outweigh the quality of substance, and I find Down by Law to be the first example of this. It’s dwelling and missed opportunities prevent it from being a truly great film, but it still has enough of that signature Jarmusch coolness to make it work in parts. When it works, it’s irresistible.