Review of Paterson

Paterson (2016)
7/10
Not so much a film as a painterly poem
14 October 2016
Saw Paterson at the Vancouver Film Festival today and enjoyed to a certain point, while becoming a bit tired of some of its cuter elements (such as the bus driver poet's decorating girlfriend) and the modernist or minimalist pace, which grows contrived in the repetition of both routine days and quirky features. The film is a tribute to Paterson, NJ's famous poet, William Carlos Williams and to the notion of celebrating reality by recording it in a faithful, painterly fashion without embellishment or sermonizing.

If you don't demand a lot of action or forward motion you are more likely to enjoy this film as a kind of modernist poem in itself. You have a cute grumpy dog to entertain you, an idealized love relationship to wonder about, and some complete red herrings such as omnipresent twins to distract you from the static still-life character of the film.
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