Movies

New Orleans, Louisiana. Pimp Jack and radio DJ Zack find themselves in the same prison cell, both victims of setups. They are soon joined by Roberto, a talkative Italian immigrant and eccentric optimist whose limited English skills are both amusing and frustrating. However, Roberto has an escape plan that Jack and Zack had never considered.

Jim Jarmusch had previously collaborated with several top musicians who were cast as actors and composers of film music. For what would prove to be the most beloved film of the early phase of his career, Down by Law, Jarmusch enlisted one of the most distinctive and outstanding American singer-songwriters: Tom Waits. Jarmusch paired Waits with his regular collaborator, alternative jazz musician John Lurie, and the popular Italian actor and comedian Roberto Benigni—a combination that proved to be a winning one. The interplay among the three, driven by the contrast between the sullen, restrained, and taciturn Waits and Lurie and the talkative, cheerful Benigni, is fascinating.

Diana Nenadić, a leading Croatian expert and interpreter of Jim Jarmusch’s work, wrote the following about the film:
"A cult film by Jim Jarmusch that could be categorized as a 'prison film' if not for its subversion of genre conventions through elliptical narration and a shift in focus from 'action' to communication between characters." By pitting silent, grim, and disillusioned drifters from the urban underworld of New Orleans against a talkative, cheerful, and optimistic foreigner, Jarmusch satirically underscores the clash between realistic and idealistic images of America while deconstructing the myth of the 'promised land.' The existential stagnation and futility of the American characters are supported by a subversion of causal plot development, dramaturgical affirmation of chance, and cyclical narrative. The linguistic wordplay of Roberto Benigni, alternating with dialogic 'gaps,' serves as a catalyst for situational comedy and the poetics of the absurd. Formal techniques, such as lateral tracking shots in various directions, diagonal mise-en-scène compositions, black-and-white cinematography by Robby Müller (in the style of film noir), and Lurie's music and Waits's songs, support the director's idiosyncratic style. Through this style, Jarmusch constructed an aesthetically and spiritually powerful anti-Hollywood "Americana."

John Lurie starred in one of the leading roles and composed the film’s score. The film features two iconic songs from Tom Waits’s legendary album Rain Dogs: "Jockey Full of Bourbon" and "Tango Till They're Sore." Down by Law premiered in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for four awards at the Independent Spirit Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Male Lead (Roberto Benigni).