Pretentious European

Rating: 3/10 (30 December 2004)

Jim Jarmush must have a lot of friends in the film business, at least I think that is the point he tries to make in this movie, one of the most boring I've ever seen.
I do not want to sound like a critic, because it's always easier to criticize than to create. Nevertheless Jarmush, clearly aiming for the art-house audience is unable to convince me that he put any soul at all in this production. It seems he just called a bunch of famous actors, asking them to be part of his low budget production whenever they had an afternoon off.
Black and white checked tablecloths, cold coffee, puffing cigarettes and shallow conversations sums it all up for me. Pretentious European and not an art film at all, I just want to add.
The exception I make is for Cate Blanchette in a great double roll as Cate and Shelly. However the discontinuity in that scene proofs that Jarmush even has the ability to rescind that. Shelly puts out her cigarette on the plate Cate gets with her tea, later the camera shows the table from above, No cigarette on the plate.
Also very poorly done is the change of film in the middle of "Cousins?" with Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan. From a brown tinted film Jarmush changes to a green tinted one. The fact that this cut is not made in the beginning of te chapter gives me the impression that this movie was not very carefully planned either.
However look on the bright side. With this movie out, the next one can only be better, so go for it Jim! (Or is this all you got?!)