Review: ‘Down By Law’ is Jim Jarmusch’s Subversive Masterpiece

Jarmusch’s 1986 comedy remains, arguably, his best film

A still from Down By Law, via Island Pictures/Grokenberger Film Produktion

Almost immediately upon starting Down By Law, when I first watched it almost a decade ago, I knew I was seeing something special. As Tom Waits’ grungy, unkempt Zack stumbled around the streets in gorgeous black and white shots framed by the inimitable Robby Müller (truly one of the best cinematographers in film’s history), Jarmusch quietly asserts his distinctive style.

When John Lurie’s gangly pimp Jack appears in the midst of a debate with his girlfriend, the reality of these characters — and their almost fantastical cool, wonderfully detached from their otherwise authentic characterisation — becomes apparent. They are losers. But they are suave losers at the very least. Soon, both are set up and arrested for crimes which neither committed.

Locked in a cell together, tensions soon grow between the two characters and their oppositional stances on life (and one another). These tensions only worsen with the introduction of Roberto Benigni’s Roberto (or Bob). Bob is an Italian tourist, visiting America knowing very little of the English language, who finds himself arrested for manslaughter. Slowly, the three begin to bond a little more… and then Bob comes forth with an escape plan.

A still from Down By Law, via Island Pictures/Grokenberger Film Produktion

Jarmusch intelligently dodges all of the cliches of the prison escape film. Though there are many excellent films focused on prison escapes (or attempted escapes, at least) — Jules Dassin’s Brute Force, Le Trou, Robert Bresson’s masterful A Man Escaped, even the Clint Eastwood classic Escape From Alcatraz has good moments — Jarmusch’s avoidance of the tropes of that genre and the forced focus on the escape itself elevates his film. As if his style in writing his mundane, very flawed characters wasn’t already enough to set his work apart, he also toys very openly with genre expectations by focusing on the interactions between his leading trio rather than focusing on their plans to escape prison.

We see practically nothing of the actual prison escape. No close-ups of dripping sweat, no shushes and silences in the dark between the bars. We see our trio, one moment, in their cells and simply cut to them running away from their prison, skipping their escape almost entirely. Again, the dynamics between the characters are the focal point as the trio try to find a way back into general society.

This focus on character comes from Jarmusch’s script, of course, but the three performances at the centre of the film are all brilliant. Tom Waits’ trademark gravelly voice and his angsty performance are a great match for Lurie’s mellow pimp. Roberto Benigni, who tends to ruin films rather than make them special, is perfectly cast and gives a great performance as a lively tourist finding himself in a terrible situation. Here, he takes a positive outlook towards his imprisonment — far more appropriate than the attempted he would make later in his career to bring a positive outlook to the Holocaust’s concentration camps in Life is Beautiful.

A still from Down By Law, via Island Pictures/Grokenberger Film Produktion

The image of Bob, Zack and Jack in their cell, running in circles, screaming “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” is one of the most liberating single images in film, to me, and it is one that comes to mind frequently. This is a film about finding joy in the world’s apparent ugliness but, crucially, it is never suffocating in its happiness. Not one moment feels forced or emotionally out of place because the characters are so beautifully written.

The dynamics between those three characters, against Müller’s gorgeous cinematography, make for the perfectly moody rainy day comedy. Jarmusch’s film is lightning in a bottle — three performers who gel together perfectly stuck together, riffing for 100 minutes. There is a balance of harsh realities and beautiful fantasy (grounded fantasy, not fairies/orcs/goblins fantasy) that makes the film feel authentic but stylised and slick. Jarmusch’s loveable rogues make Down By Law a classic. It’s extremely funny, has great characters and a light tone that makes it very entertaining. It is the most Jarmusch-ian of Jarmusch’s films, full of the stylistic traits that he would come to be widely recognised for within independent American cinema.

To read the other articles in my ‘The Films of Jim Jarmusch’ series, please visit the list below:

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For more from me on film, see the list below:

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