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Down by Law

1986

Jim Jarmusch

Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni, John Lurie, Nicoletta Braschi ...

7.6

12,656

Comedy. Drama DJ Zack and pimp Jack end up in prison for being too laid-back to avoid being framed for crimes they didn't commit. They end up sharing a cell with eccentric Italian optimist Roberto, whose limited command of the English language is both entertaining and infuriating - but rather more useful to them is the fact that Roberto knows an escape route.

	Author	Review
United States	David Denby The New Yorker	"A terrific movie (...) A beautiful, melancholy, kidding escape fantasy"	POS
United States	Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times	"It doesn't have the inspired perfection of "Stranger Than Paradise," in which every shot seemed inevitable. But it's a good movie, and the more you know about movies, the more you're likely to like it (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"With its hypnotic score, stupendous performances and its superb monochrome cinematography by Robby Müller, it is something to set aside early work by David Lynch and Spike Lee (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Martin Chilton Telegraph	"Alternately downbeat, witty, bleak and optimistic. Down by Law is a delight, right down to the unexpected last scene"	POS
United States	Vincent Canby The New York Times	"Reduced to its plot, it is very slight. But the plot isn't the point. The excitement comes from the realization that we are seeing a true film maker at work"	POS
United States	Rita Kempley The Washington Post	"A complicated and multi-layered tale (...) Hyper-intellectualizing aside, it's pure pleasure for comedy connoisseurs. Read full review	POS
United States	Pauline Kael The New Yorker	"Jarmusch's passive style has its wit, but the style is deadening here until he brings in Roberto--a character out of folk humor"	NEU

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