Good soundtrack and nice looking images, but not much else

Rating: 5/10 (24 January 2005)

"Coffee and Cigarettes" is a series of a dozen or so vignettes of varying length, spliced together to form one whole movie. The plot, such as it is, involves various characters of varying likability holding conversations in various locations over, you guessed it, exactly those two stimulants. Might sound vague, but er, that's about it. As might be expected, some of the sequences work better than others. Some are quirky and interesting (Iggy Pop and Tom Waits as two prickly rock stars; Cate Blanchett playing two sparring cousins, with a body double and lots of over-the-shoulder shots) and some are just plain annoying (Bill Murray and two rappers = bathroom break for me and quite a few others in the auditorium).
The film is shot in high contrast black-and-white and uses consistently interesting locations throughout, plus there is great music playing in the background of each sequence; this means you can just enjoy looking at this film even if you're not really following the rambling dialogue. And you can stay for the credits and wonder how come so many people worked on the project when there's not really a whole lot to show for their efforts. Worth seeing, but probably not so interesting on DVD as on the big screen, and if you're expecting plot line or action, or even some laughs, you'll be disappointed.