A Fine Cigarette That Burns Out Too Often

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2008)

The creation of Jim Jarmusch "Coffee and Cigarettes", is an amalgamation of eleven varying in length vignettes that detail interactions between various characters in random places as they sit around a table somewhere and do as the title would suggest, drink coffee and smoke cigarettes. It follows a numerous number of celebrities and in a manner not often seen before in film, they play themselves in bizarre and sometimes improvised little pieces, that have no precise theme linking them but address varying aspects of human interaction.
Coffee and Cigarettes looks at the niche side of human engagement, in detail the director focuses on the little nuances of social etiquette and attitudes. We've all experienced one of the scenes in some form or another, the "No Problem" segment being the obvious one whereby we have all spoken with someone who has something they want to say but do not wish to reveal it. The "No Problem" vignette as a prime example though of how the directors wishes do not always work. It attempts to highlight how frustrating this arduous process of extracting information can be by trying to enforce a naturalistic dialogue through its improvised means, which we can relate to, but from a viewing perspective the tedium grows rapidly.
Jarmusch successfully highlights moments of awkwardness and aspects of life, but often due to the improvised nature of the piece finds that its execution lets it down in a couple of weaker segments. The Tom Waits and Iggy Pop meet, mirrored with the Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan section highlight the best in cringe worthy social awkwardness, where good gestures are misinterpreted and to not risk a silence you often find yourself saying something which is taken out of context. Bill Murray and his Wu Tang compatriots are engaging in their genial comedic slot although the particular sketch, while enjoyable, feels out of line with the trend. Renee French provides the perfect acting lesson in sensuality and solemn dignity, a woman wishing to be left alone bu continually pestered by the waiter that obviously fancies her physical exterior yet cannot express so in words. In contrast, Benigni and Wright provide us with a lesson in surrealism which says less about meeting a stranger than it does suggesting that they are border line schizophrenic through their coffee taking habits, while Buscemi feels completely misused and out of place as he rants about Elvis conspiracies in the "Twins" encounter. My major irking stems from the Cate Blanchett sequence which is undeniably well edited, yet despite opinion that her "cousin" (played by herself) is a tag along annoying draggy little waste I find the opposite. I realise it's self-parody and that Jarmusch is showing that both are at fault for their pseudo-relationship, but I find myself bemused by the insistence that Cate as Cate is the set upon. Each mini-film, each story presents something new about humanity, reflects something different about a situation we may have been in, reflects something different about how we go about talking with people, but not all are enjoyable to watch.
So why the six out of ten mark? Suffice to say when this film hits, it certainly hits its mark. I realise it's been a somewhat overly negative review, but only because there is so much promise in roughly half the segments, that the other half seem such let down as it slows the middle portion of the film to sluggish proportions and has you questioning the improvised nature of some segments. I realise the impromptu nature of the pieces highlights the impromptu nature of civil interaction with a friend, a colleague, a sister or a stranger but had the dialogue been sharper in a handful more scenes this could be a blistering film of severely addictive proportions. It is comedic as we see ourselves fumbling around in the situations are screen counterparts do. When the realism lands its mark its purposeful black and white filming counterbalances the coffee and cigarette pastiche and is an acutely accurate and painfully amusing lesson in the potentials and pitfalls of simple chit- chat. When it fails, it becomes more like a wet cigarette, losing its light and heat, leaving you scrambling for a lighter that turns out to be a remote control fast forwarding to the next scene. It's addictive, and yet leaves you often wanting to quit when it loses its buzz.