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:

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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)

One of Jim Jarmusch's worst films

I was disappointed. It's certainly not a bad film. I did enjoy it for the most part. However, it's also Jim Jarmusch's most political film and I really don't like when he does political films. I don't like political films in general. I'd rather he stuck to his art-house genre bending pictures. Those are a lot more interesting and far more challenging and entertaining. THE LIMITS OF CONTROL was extremely well directed, for sure, but I didn't like the political themes. I especially HATED the ending! It's one of the biggest cop-outs I've seen this year! He didn't have to explain how Bill Murray's character got inside of that place. It was so stupid and it practically killed the film for me. The ending was basically Jim Jarmusch catering to his typical mainstream fan boy audience. He didn't need to kiss their ass. He should have just stuck to his original style. That worked a lot better. Overall even though it's enjoyable and well made and has a fantastic soundtrack it was not challenging in the slightest, it's far too extreme in it's liberal political politics and caters too much to it's audience, it has a terrible ending, and there's no reason to even care about anything that happens. There's no character development, there's no reason to care about any of the characters, and there's nothing to hook you. I understood what Jim Jarmusch was getting at and I appreciated it, but overall he just doesn't try hard enough. He can still make excellent film, as evidenced by BROKEN FLOWERS, but THE LIMITS OF CONTROL is one of his lesser films. I will say this though. If you have a choice between renting his dreadful YEAR OF THE HORSE and this film, THE LIMITS OF CONTROL, go with this. It may not interest you, but it's still the more entertaining of the two.