JIM JARMUSCH, THAT RARE DIRECTOR

"The Limits of Control" with Bill Murray It's not often that a widely distributed film makes no sense. Rarer still do we elect to see such films and find ourselves raptly entertained. But this what Jim Jarmusch tends to achieve, most recently with "The Limits of Control", featuring Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton, among many others.

Jarmusch is that rare director who synthesises the seemingly incompatible impulses of absurdist trickery and giddy entertainment. What does the result look like? A compelling plot that goes nowhere, scenes that look cool in unexpected ways and a story that induces laughter, suspense, titillation and disbelief.

Don't anticipate of a neat storyline. The plot revolves around some possibly stolen diamonds; that's about it. Everything makes just enough sense to be pleasurable, but the joy of the film comes from soaking up the wack-job characters as they appear onscreen, like soloists in a jazz ensemble: Tilda Swinton as a platinum-wigged cowgirl; Bill Murray as a hapless tycoon; Paz de la Huerta as a permanently naked girl in librarian glasses. The actors are plainly enjoying themselves, and their enthusiasm is contagious. Jarmusch is the rare director who manages to be strange without being self-indulgent.

~ MOLLY YOUNG