The idea of a Jim Jarmusch spy thriller is as puzzling as it is
weirdly compelling, and The Limits of Control lives up to both
of those qualities—puzzling and compelling—in just about
every way imaginable. It’s a kind of anti–Bourne Identity:
Isaach De Bankolé plays an unnamed suit-wearing man traveling
around Spain, meeting with various unnamed undercover agents in cafes,
and listening to their existential monologues about art and science. In
this way, Control is a spiritual sequel to Jarmusch’s delightful
Coffee and Cigarettes, in part because it features cameos from
actors like Tilda Swinton (insanely glamorous in a blond fright wig and
leopard print) and Bill Murray (in his less-bombastic underplaying
mode).
But between the actorly experiments with monologue, the main
character confronts some tired spy tropes that have been resurrected to
bizarre effect, like the spy’s sex-object love interest (the fetching
Paz de la Huerta plays a bespectacled woman who remains naked through
the entire movie—in the credits, her character is referred to as
“Nude”) and the villain’s ridiculously overprotected armed compound. At
times, the movie leans a tad too much toward the play-acting side of
things (for instance, a heavily tattooed Gael García Bernal
turns in a wobbly performance due to too many affectations for a
character who is barely onscreen for 10 minutes), but that boyish
overexuberance is part of the charm of any spy movie.
Swinton’s character mentions Hitchcock in her monologue about
movies, and it’s hard not to picture Hitch in Control‘s
audience, sighing audibly at the film’s lack of a chase sequence or
reversal of fortune or easily identifiable MacGuffin. But that’s not
the point here. Control is Jarmusch’s experiment to see whether
he can make a movie that is undeniably his within the well-worn
constraints of a genre picture. It is an undeniable success. 
Sorry- Can’t call this an undeniable success by any stretch. This is amateur work with a big budget.Saw this last night and it was stunningly boring. I half expected Kim Gordon to pop in with a cameo appearance just to seal the deal.
Sorry- Can’t call this an undeniable success by any stretch. This is amateur work with a big budget.Saw this last night and it was stunningly boring. I half expected Kim Gordon to pop in with a cameo appearance just to seal the deal
This sounds like it’s breaking what’s close to RULE # 1 for any student filmmaker: do NOT make a film that is nothing but a vehicle for your own thinly-veiled, non-connected, half-baked pseudo-philosophical ramblings. This rule is necessary because “art” types pull this crap so often. I don’t think it’s just my personal prejudice against this kind of stuff. It’s kind of a hard and fast thing to shy away from, but it’s almost a rite of passage for ambition, smart amateurs. Student filmmakers, basically.
@3: Perhaps, but Jarmusch has been making such films for a quarter of a century. In fact, you could paraphrase that rule by sayingg “don’t make a Jarmusch film.”
I guess what I’m saying is that your comment is kind of like saying that Annie Hall sounds too much like a Woody Allen movie.
jarmusch movies are always boring – but usually have a couple amazing moments tucked away. that said i’ll be waiting till someone else rents it.