Down by Law

Three men end up in the same New Orleans cell: a radio DJ, a pimp, and an Italian tourist whose English barely functions. Jim Jarmusch declines to put the escape at the centre, skipping almost all of its mechanics and pointing the camera instead at three men learning to tolerate each other. Robby Müller's black and white photography is what carries it. The camera moves very slowly, and the architecture of New Orleans and the bayou stand as characters in their own right. Tom Waits and John Lurie were already Jarmusch regulars. Lurie wrote the score with a small jazz ensemble and Waits contributes songs. Roberto Benigni is making his American debut here, speaking English out of memorised phrases. Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi, whose characters fall in love on screen, later married in life. Who it is for: anyone tired of prison movie conventions who prefers atmosphere to plot. Who it is not for: viewers who want a story with momentum. This film is in no hurry whatsoever, and means it.