Perth Film Society- Paterson

Before I started my job as a reviewer at Small City Big Personality I have to be honest and say that I would often look outside of Perth to fulfil my entertainment needs.  I would more often than not save up my money and go and see big bands in Edinburgh or Glasgow, and if I wanted to see an arthouse or indie film I would either go through to Dundee Contemporary Arts or even drive through to the Filmhouse on Lothian Road in Edinburgh. 

Now that I'm aware of all the great music that's on offer in Perthshire you really have to twist my arm pretty hard to get me to go to a gig anywhere else.  After learning about what The Perth Film Society has on offer just five minutes walk from my flat, I'm beginning to feel the same about films too.  I was vaguely aware that there was a film society and I think I may even have attended a screening just after they started in 1999 but it was a much smaller affair back then and it has really come on leaps and bounds since then.  

My girlfriend Jo and I arrived at the Norrie Miller Studio in plenty of time and we were greeted by one of the chairs of the society John D. Wright.  Who offered us a glass of wine (courtesy of Perth's own Excel Wines) which Jo assured me was delicious but I had to decline as I was still suffering from worst toothache in the World.  John and all the chairs are very knowledgeable and friendly, and we had a quick chat about the film before going into the studio to take our seats.  I was half expecting The Society to be a well-kept secret but it was heartening to see a full room of over a hundred fellow cinephiles waiting patiently for the film to begin.

John gave a quick thank you to all the sponsors that included many Small City Faves including The Bean Shop, Reid's and Fun Junction.  John is immensely proud of Perth Film Society’s record of gaining sponsorship from and helping to promote so many local firms, be they established or young.  Tonight's film is going to be Jim Jarmusch's "Paterson" starring Adam Driver (I think that is why Jo agreed to accompany me).  We are told it's about a man called Paterson who happens to live in the New Jersey city of Paterson.  "It's a bit like this friend I have called Craig who lives in Cragie" John quips.

The film is a lovely slice of poetic realism which tells the story of a week in the life of a bus driver and aspiring poet Paterson.  So we have a film about a man called Paterson who lives in Paterson, is a bus driver, played by Adam Driver.  Paterson (both the film and the character) are intently observant and interested in people.  Every day the lead character, who due to his role as a public servant himself goes unobserved, listens in to the conversations that his passengers have.  These scenes are like mini-films in their own right and we get an insight into the lives and motivations of the kids, blue-collar workers, and students that feature in them.  I got a strong feeling that these characters stories continued on after Paterson and I stopped observing them, that they weren't just devices there to forward the plot.  

Speaking of plot, that is one possible accusation that could be levelled at the film.  In the face of it, not a lot of it really happens in this film compared to your average Hollywood blockbuster.  To me, that is a strength rather than a weakness.  I love how that, for the most part, the dialogue is so natural and unshowy and the touches of humour seem pretty authentic.  There are touches of surrealism too, like the way his monochrome obsessed girlfriend paints more and more things black and white as the week progresses.  Adam Drivers performance totally won me over too, I started being pretty sceptical about him in "Force Awakens", really liking him "The Last Jedi" and totally loving him in this.

I also love the way the film shows the craft of writing.  Paterson starts with a fragment of an idea for a poem like his box of Blue Ohio Blue Tip Matches and gradually spins it into something tangible and beautiful over the course of his working week.  I also love the way the verse appears burned on the screen while he reading it alound.  The poems themselves are excellent and were written specifically for the film by Pulitzer nominated poet Ron Padgett.  Although I did like Paterson's poems, the one thing I did find irksome about the film was the regularity he runs into other poetry-obsessed individuals.  I know that the film is set in Paterson due to its poetic credentials (both Ginsberg and William Carlos Williams hail from there) but these chance encounters seemed increasingly forced.  However, this is a really minor gripe, and in the words of the great film reviewer Mark Kermode, other opinions are available.