The Limits of Control
Review
by Anthony Morris
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The Limits of Control
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Jim Jarmusch's films are pretty much always something of a balancing act.
When he gets it right - Ghost Dog or Broken Flowers, to cite two recent examples - he can create intriguing, enthralling films out of a whole lot of not much.
When
he gets it wrong, you are left looking at your watch wondering how it
could be possible for the hands to be going backwards...
And so it proves to be here.
It
follows the seemingly exciting - or at least, interesting - story of a
nameless, presumably third world assassian (Issach De Bankole) slowly
crossing Spain collecting coded clues from mysterious strangers telling
him where he should go next as he moves towards a result that seems
enivitable but is never spoken aloud.
It is no secret
that the way you create suspense is by setting up a dramatic event and
then having nothing happen, but here Jarmusch gets the balance all
wrong.
We don't care enough about what the agent is up to, and
we have to wait far, far too long between events for any tension to be
sustained.
Usually with this kind of film it is possible
to argue that something else is going on in the sapces between the
story, but unless you are after a mildly interesting look at parts of
Spain punctuated by various brief cameos (Tilda Swinton, John Hurt,
Bill Murray) then The Limits Of Control is a case of:
Move along. Nothing to see here.
1.5
out
of 5
The Limits Of Control
Australian release: 23rd
July, 2009
Official
Site: The Limits Of Control
Cast: Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Bill Murray, Issach De Bankole
Director: Jim Jarmusch
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