Down by Law

 

Moviedrome Introduction

There is some conjecture as to whether this was actually a Moviedrome film. It was broadcast the week after the last Moviedrome film (A bullet for a general). There is a BBC 2 Introduction, but it is not by Alex Cox. It does not appear in the lists created by other people with too much time on their hands.

Film Details 

Release Date: 1986

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Stars: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni 

Plot Summary

Down by Law follows two down-on-their-luck men in New Orleans—Zack, a disillusioned DJ, and Jack, a small-time pimp—who are both framed for crimes they didn’t commit and end up sharing a prison cell. They quickly clash, trading insults and sitting through long stretches of tense silence.

Their uneasy dynamic changes when a third inmate arrives: Roberto, a cheerful and talkative Italian tourist with a love of odd phrases and simple philosophy. Though Zack and Jack initially find him irritating, Roberto’s warmth gradually breaks down their hostility.

When Roberto discovers a way to escape, the three men break out of prison and flee into the Louisiana bayou. Lost in the swamp, they struggle to survive, but the shared experience softens their differences. Eventually, they stumble upon a small, isolated restaurant, where Roberto meets an Italian woman and decides to stay behind.

Zack and Jack continue on together for a while, but their bond remains fragile. In the end, they go their separate ways, leaving the story without a conventional resolution—more about the brief, strange connection between the three men than any lasting transformation.

Personal History

Unknown to me.

Current Review

Can you imagine how annoying it would be to have Tom Waits attempting to make a slapstick three stooges style movie?  Well, just have a watch of this.

The music is good. Roberto's optimism plays quite nicely against the pessimism of Waits and Lurie.

The script varies between deadpan black comedy and taking a joke about an Italian learning American too far. How anyone can put up with the "Ice Cream Scene", I will never know.

Stylistic and cliched. 

Quirky Facts

None.

Quotes

Roberto: I am-a no criminal. I ham a good egg.

Jack: I am a good egg, Jesus.

Roberto: Yes. Yeah, I'm a good egg. Yes. We are! We are a good egg. My friends

One of the few times I laughed.

Future Inspiration

The music was easily the best thing about this - from the era of Rain Dogs.