Broken Flowers
Rated R
1hr 46mins
Written by Jim Jarmusch
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Cast
Bill Murray
Sharon Stone
Frances Conroy
Tilda Swinton
Jeffrey Wright
Christopher McDonald
Chloe Sevigny
Jessica Lange
Broken Flowers is written and
directed by Jim Jarmusch. You may recognize the name from his collection of
short stories revolving around Coffee and Cigarettes. In that movie Bill Murray
serves coffee and hangs out with two members of the Wu Tang Clan.
In Broken Flowers Murray plays an
aging Don Juan, named Don Johnston who has just been dumped by his girlfriend.
That same day Don receives a mysterious pink letter. The letter explains that
he has a son, and he may be looking for him. Before you ask, yes Jarmusch does
play up the fact that Murray's
characters name is similar to former heart throb and Miami Vice star Don
Johnson.
After some persuasion from his
Ethiopian neighbor Winston, played by Jeffrey Wright, Don decides to venture
out and find the ladies he had relationships with 20 years ago.
On his trip Don visits some
beautiful middle aged women. The interaction between Don and the women is
priceless, as Don searches for clues to who may be the mother of his child.
Broken Flowers continues a trend
for Murray
as he has been moving into subtle comedies, which deal with interactions
between people, more so than overcoming an obstacle or a mental deficiency,
e.g. What About Bob.
The film has many moments of Murray
sitting in his living room or driving in his car listening to an Ethiopian jazz
mix tape provided by Winston. The lack of dialogue gives Jarmusch many
opportunties to show off the films amazing cinematography.
Murray’s
character seems apathetic throughout the movie. Trying to decipher Murray’s
feelings hard because he shows no emotions throughout
the movie. His characters' demeanor is reminiscent of Raleigh St. Clair, the
character he plays in the Royal Tenenbaums - a Wes Anderson Film. The humor is
similar to a Wes Anderson film.
If you like movies with concrete resolutions this one will
leave you wanting more. After I left the theater I didn’t know what I
thought. I kept thinking about the movie and the ending.
I came up with theories on what
really happened at the end. I won’t bore you with my theories, and for the most
part I believe the five other people in the theater that night probably came to
the same conclusion I did.
After much thought I decided that
I enjoyed the movie. I would definitely go see it again. The movie is funny,
great cinematography, a funny star-studded cast and a step up for Jarmusch
from his last movie. I give the movie four stars out of five.
The Courtesy Reviewer,
Shane Gillespie
Tags:
IT movies film reviews 
