The Limits of Control (2009)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

Writer:

Jim Jarmusch (written by)

Release Date:

21 May 2009 (Israel)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

For every way in, there is another way out.

Plot:

The story of a mysterious loner, a stranger in the process of completing a criminal job. |

US Showtimes:

(register to personalize)

Cast

Isaach De Bankolé	...	Lone Man
Alex Descas	...	Creole
Jean-François Stévenin	...	French
Óscar Jaenada	...	Waiter
Luis Tosar	...	Violin
Paz de la Huerta	...	Nude
Tilda Swinton	...	Blonde
Youki Kudoh	...	Molecules
John Hurt	...	Guitar
Gael García Bernal	...	Mexican
Hiam Abbass	...	Driver
Bill Murray	...	American
Héctor Colomé	...	Second American
María Isasi	...	Flamenco Club Waitress
Norma Yessenia Paladines	...	Flight Attendant

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic nudity and some language.

Runtime:

USA:116 min

Country:

Spain | USA | Japan

Language:

English | Spanish | Hebrew | French | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Entertainment Farm (EF)

Trivia:

When Tilda Swinton talks about a swooping bird in a room full of sand she is referring to a scene in the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker (1979).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the Lone Man has passed the last picture in the museum during his first visit, the camera can be seen slightly reflected in the glass of the picture frame.

Quotes:

Molecules: Wait three days until you see the bread. The guitar will find you.

Movie Connections:

References La vie de bohème (1992)

The Limits of Control Movie Review from The Massie Twins

What begins as an exercise in existentialism and surrealism never graduates from that experiment and instead evolves into a two hour waiting game for a profound explanation of the events we've just witnessed. Sadly, it never comes. Reality may be arbitrary according to director Jim Jarmusch, but cohesive storytelling and a reason for observing his art is not. Like a jigsaw puzzle without a border, too many pieces of the mystery are missing to affect its audience with intrigue over confusion and this already painfully slow Lynchian drama becomes an excruciating slideshow of self-reflective nonsense. If the best films are like dreams you're not really sure you've had, then The Limits of Control is like a nightmare that you remember all too clearly.

A Man (Isaach De Bankole) is hired for a job that requires both creativity and a keen perception of realities. Trading matchboxes, cryptic messages, and existential perspectives with strangers assigned to find him, including a platinum blonde film enthusiast (Tilda Swinton), a Japanese science muse (Youki Kudoh) and a music-loving girl who parades around in the buff (Paz de la Huerta), the Man works his way to the ultimate goal - one whose outcome he has always known, though its journey is one of constant perplexity.

Since there's no story to speak of (or at least not one based in a non-paradoxical half-dream, half-subconscious world), the easiest thing to admire is the style - sharp suits, variegated costumes and complimentary nakedness by a character credited only as "Nude." Tilda Swinton's briefly seen character practically spells it out when pondering movies: "Sometimes I like it in films when people just sit there not saying anything." She also mentions her love of pictures that focus on "the little details of life." While giving the audience insight into some of the ideas unfolding on screen, the general, gross lack of defining every other moment of significance drowns out whatever brief strands of understanding viewers might have temporarily grasped.

It's brooding and as slowly paced as the calming techniques practiced by the nameless main character, taking time to focus on scenery, food, traffic and architecture. All of the details are an elaborate setup for the multitude of questions being stockpiled, except that no answers ever arrive. With so many minutes spent studying various elements continually referenced amongst the colorful array of supporting characters, certainly some sort of meaning exists. If Jarmusch's intent was to demonstrate the very limited control the audience has over unfolding events and the reasoning that surrounds them, he succeeded. But that accomplishment also marks an utter failure in regards to producing a movie that can entertain someone outside of the director's mindset and appreciation for his own cinematic witchcraft.

- The Massie Twins