Bill Murray, Gael García Bernal, John Hurt

The story of a mysterious loner, a stranger in the process of completing a criminal job.

Flixster Users

46% liked it

24,991 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

91 critics

R, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Jim Jarmusch

Release Date: May 1, 2009

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DVD Release Date: November 17, 2009

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Stats: 384 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (384)


  • November 23, 2009
    You know what is the worst part of being the reining king of indie cinema? That when you do have your occasional misstep it becomes all the more disappointing because you can see what they are trying to do but just simply does not work. This is the case of Jim Jarmusch's "The Li...( read more)mits of Control", a that is like watching your favorite color of paint dry, No matter how pretty you think it is, doesn't change the fact that its straight-up boring, which is hard to say considering that it is the one thing I never thought would apply to Jarmusch.
    You have about half of the stuff that applies to a typical Jarmusch film, the great pan shots, amazing score and lush cinematography. Problem is that without the sharp dialogue and cool characters. (As badass as Issach De Bankole is, there is not really anything new or interesting about them.) it just feels like some lazy rip-off over the real deal.
    As much as I hate to say it, the downfall of "The Limits of Control" is that all I could say afterwards is meh.
  • June 5, 2009
    I was really into the mood and texture of the film, especially with Doyle's work and the Boris soundtrack. There are a number of references to films by people ranging from Melville to Rivette to Costa, though it's far less obvious to be considered a snob's Tarantino film. I did...( read more)n't care for the culture vs. commerce theme of the film, maybe because it is treated so abstractly and artificially.
  • November 21, 2009
    Spanish trip in the Hispanic-Land by African tranquility in order to avoid American vortex. I personely liked very much this magic bag which carries several different colour suits.

    Jim Jarmusch, one of leading independent American movie makers.
  • November 20, 2009
    not sure at all
    BC
    http://www.clownnumber5.blogspot.com
  • November 19, 2009
    i do like to see the goodness of movies
  • November 18, 2009
    in this story was different screenplay..........that 's like it........
  • November 18, 2009
    The trailerof The limits of Control is very nice and attractive, every one would like to know something about the films story and actions moving. help me
  • November 18, 2009
    Is there any reason not to see a Bill Murray Movie :o)

    Just don't know where i'm going to see that. Let pray for a Canadien Brodcast in a few years
  • November 17, 2009
    i want to see this film
  • November 17, 2009
    Photobucket

    As I descended into impassable rivers,
    I no lo...( read more)nger felt guided by the ferrymen...

    - arthur rimbaud

    The names of the characters are not important. You only know the main character as the Lone Man. That's all. He's given a mission to kill a man who seems to be controlling some sort of artificial reality. Think about other films where a character who has to stop the villian and you'll understand. When the Lone Man meets his target, he kills him with a piece of guitar wire. "Reality is arbitrary," the Lone Man tells him.

    Before all of this though he meets six characters who are all in part symbolize the bohemian way of thinking: Music, Movies, Sex, Science, Art and lastly Hallucinations. He exchanges matchboxes with these people, reads a coded message and eats the message.

    Much of the film is existential, how everything relates to something even if it's different. For example, When the Lone Man visits an art gallery he sees a painting of a naked woman. When he returns to his room a naked woman is laying on his bed. How ironic. I think when he's looking at a painting he's using his imagination. "Everything's imagined," one character tells him, the man who makes violins with only one string. Trippy.

    There's also a hint of the characters being aware that there's people watching them. "Among us are those who are not among us," the molecules lady mentions. Is she talking about us, the audience? Or about those who are watching him from the helicopter? I only mention this because the film is shot like it didn't have a director.

    This is a film that will test your patience. Ebert hated this film, but I think he knew what it was about:

    "That reminded me of a silent film named "Man with a Movie Camera," which some people think is the best film ever made. It shows a man with a movie camera, photographing things. Was Jarmusch remaking it without the man and the camera?"

    The cinematography is beautiful and the soundtrack is excellent. Jarmusch has made better films and one of them for me anyways would be Broken Flowers. The trailer for this film makes it look like a mystery. It is, but it's also headscratchingly unconventional that it must be seen for it's trance like tale of existential subjectivity.

Critic Reviews


May 22, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

What a drag it is to descend from coolly blank to boringly meaningful. full review

May 14, 2009
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

This interminable trifle from indie icon Jim Jarmusch aims to be the last word in ironic cool, but it comes across as the work of a fatigued dilettante. full review

May 8, 2009
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The Limits of Control contains all the wonderful things that only Jim Jarmusch can do but lacks some of the necessary things that Jarmusch either can't or won't do. full review

May 7, 2009
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

It will frustrate many viewers, and it often frustrated me, but there's something about it that keeps your gaze, despite the self-indulgence of much of the filmmaking. full review

May 7, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

[Jarmusch] is making some kind of a point. I think the point is that if you strip a story down to its bare essentials, you will have very little left. I wonder how he pitched this idea to his investors. full review

May 4, 2009
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

It's unfair to call Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control the emptiest movie ever made, but I wrote that in my notebook as I struggled to stay awake. full review

May 1, 2009
Marcy Dermansky, About.com

The Lone Man remains inscrutably cool from beginning to end. He is is nothing more a hit man for hire who likes his coffee just so. full review

April 30, 2009
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

Director Jim Jarmusch tests the limits of our patience with this indulgent, minimalist exercise that all adds up to nothing. full review

April 30, 2009
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

With The Limits of Control, Jim Jarmsuch gets tangled up in his own deadpan. full review

April 30, 2009
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Jim Jarmusch's Dada meander, shot by Christopher Doyle, is empty and excruciating -- that's really all you need to know. full review

View more The Limits of Control reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • aLiReZaSaFaVi
    August 3, 2008
    Directed by
    Jim Jarmusch

    Writing credits
    Jim Jarmusch (screenplay)



    Cast (in alphabetical order)

    Tilda Swinton

    John Hurt

    Bill Murray

    Gael Garcيa Bernal

    Paz de la Huerta
    Hiam Abbass

    Isaach De Bankolé
    Youki Kudoh

    Luis Tosar
    سscar Jaenada
    Jean-François Stévenin
    Alex Descas

    Produced by
    Jon Kilik.... executive producer
    Yukie Kito.... executive producer
    Gretchen McGowan.... producer
    Stacey E. Smith.... producer

    Cinematography by
    Christopher Doyle

    Film Editing by
    Jay Rabinowitz

    Production Design by
    Eugenio Caballero

    Makeup Department
    Ainhoa Eskisabel.... assistant makeup artist
    Eva Quilez.... body painter artist

    Production Management
    Patricia Nieto.... production manager

    Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
    Richard Diment.... second assistant director
    Christopher Downs.... additional third assistant director
    Adrian Grunberg.... first assistant director
    Ferran Rial.... second second assistant director

    Art Department
    Raْl Monge.... concept artist

    Sound Department
    Drew Kunin.... sound mixer
    Peter Murphy.... boom operator

    Special Effects by
    Pau Costa.... special effects
    Javier H. Moneo.... special effects technician
    Esteban Roma.... special effects technician
    Raْl Romanillos.... special effects

    Visual Effects by
    Glenn Allen.... visual effects producer: Brainstorm Digital
    Richard Friedlander.... visual effects producer: Brainstorm Digital
    Eric J. Robertson.... visual effects supervisor

    Editorial Department
    Cam McLauchlin.... telecin

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