“Paterson” is an absolute pleasure to witness.  One feels honored to be on this… ride.  I say this because it is about a bus driver whose story is delicate, even delectable.  It’s fascinating.  Jim Jarmusch turns a seemingly banal and simple life into a complex, contemplative introspective.  Paterson (Driver) drives a bus for the city of Paterson, N.J. but he’s also a poet.  His hero is William Carlos Williams and deep within he holds a dream to be as good as Williams yet never calls himself a poet, therefore stopping any disappointment that may come from negative criticism.

Paterson sees poetry in all things and one of the factors that has you treasure experiencing this life that Jarmusch has displayed for you is how you absorb Paterson’s poetry.  It’s not only spoken by him, whether in his thoughts as he cruises through traffic, or as he walks his dog Marvin (played charmingly by Nellie), but we also see it scrolling across the screen as he speaks in a composed and knowing tone.  It becomes visually embedded in our minds and we crave more.

His poems are perceptive, analytical at times, logical and illogical.  They’re both abstract and they’re ordinary but they’re sublime.  He writes these poems in a notebook, one he keeps to himself, careful they can never be seen.

We are with Paterson for a week of his life.  He has a girlfriend, has a dog and is methodized, unlike girlfriend Laura (Farahani), who is all over the place.  A painter obsessed with the color black one minute, a baker the next; him a structured poet, her a musician… this week, anyway.  The relationship is sound as they balance each other, or so it would seem… perhaps not?  Do they love each other or are they just putting up with one another for convenience sake?  Upon reflection, you realize there’s much more going on than you first thought.  It can be slow in moments but the movie consumes you, more or less.  It is, simply put, poetic.  Once you’ve seen “Paterson” it will stick with you for quite some time.  The alpha male battle he has with Marvin, also the conflict within himself over what or who he is, is gripping to observe.  Driver does such a remarkable job of bringing levels to this character without nearly uttering a word that he seduces you.  I highly recommend you see this film.  You’ll never see Driver as Kylo Ren again.

In 1958, the sweet and innocent Ms. Apple Blossom Queen from Virginia, Marla Mabrey (Collins), with dreams of making it big in Hollywood, steps into the world of Howard Hughes and her life is never the same.  For four-hundred dollars a week, a house to reside and a driver she, along with many other woman, are actresses, singers and dancers, kept under contract and available at all times for screen by Hughes, ready for screen tests at a moments notice and at his whim.  What becomes evident and quickly is he may not have anything for them, but nobody else can have them.  They are what he sees as the best and he, the great and powerful Howard Hughes, has them.  It makes the point of the opening scroll clearer; a quote by Hughes, “Never check an interesting fact.”  Being very paranoid Hughes keeps close check on everyone he employees yet is emotionally close to few.  Of his many drivers, Frank (Ehrenreich), a young and deeply religious Methodist, grabs the attention of the virginal Baptist Blossom, Marla.  Frank is not only religious but engaged, however, he notices her, as well, struck by her ability to stand out in a crowd; to be different, speak as an individual and not try to fit into a mold.

Hughes has strict rules about his drivers having affairs if they’re married, in fact, rule #1 is no employee is allowed to have any relationship whatsoever with a contract actress.  He doesn’t want them getting too close in any capacity but Frank can’t help himself and breaks the rule.  Frank and Marla, having an almost immediate attraction to one another, get closer and closer and defy the rules of not only Hughes but of their church.  Perhaps this is the only way they find comfort in the abnormal life they cater to each day.

Paranoia grips the eccentric billionaire for which they work.  Frank and Marla become a lifeline to Hughes as he teeters on the edge of madness.  He sees almost no one and he lives in the shadows; in the dark and secrecy.  Once you’re in, you give up your life for his and his desires, his dreams.  His needs are always met and whether fake or fiction in the heart of the person doing it, everyone coddles him and indulges him, laughs at every joke and is at his beckon call.  Frank and Marla change who they are as time moves on, to please their boss but soon it comes clear his interest is only in himself.

The film is quite fascinating.  With rumors of his quizzical personality and the opening quote, “Never check an interesting fact,” the question is what or if any of the film is factual.  Did he really have to have certain ice-cream instantly at any given moment and insist on flying himself across the world at the drop of a hat?  Curiosity of Hughes himself is what makes this movie so riveting but the sweet love story, the old fashion style it’s presented and the music Beatty uses makes it that much more delightful.  Beatty is larger than life and it’s great to see him back with this particular project.  He also wrote and produced it so he chose cinematographer, Caleb Deschanel (The Natural, Hope Floats, The Passion of the Christ) who has everyone in a special glow that befits the time period and the ambience Beatty was going for.  “Rules Don’t Apply” is the perfect holiday release and I suggest you give it a watch this Thanksgiving weekend.