The Limits of Control
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Year Released: 2009
Rating: 2.5
Alas, an action movie without action ... or a whole lot of much else: it's a celebration of repetition. Non-descript Isaach De Bankolé accepts an assignment to go to Spain and do some 'job' - it turns out he has to strangle Bill Murray's American Pig character with a guitar string - and meets up with a bunch of strange artist-types along the way: they 'communicate' using cryptic notes in matchboxes. It's actually kind of a jokey work of genre deconstruction, breaking down the 'contract killer' formula with a nudge and a wink, but it's hard to get worked up over a movie that's so consistently mindful of its own construction. It has its defenders, but I'll stick with Melville, thanks all the same. Christopher Doyle's cinematography makes Spain (and especially Madrid) look crisp.
