Broken Flowers
Rated R; Starring Bill Murray, Jeffrey
Wright, Tilda Swinton, Julie
Delpy, Jessica Lange and Sharon Stone
Directed by Jim Jarmausch
In
the opening of Jim Jarmusch’s wonderful new comedy, “Broken
Flowers,” we see Don Johnston (Bill Murray) glazing at an old black and white movie
on his flat-screen TV. Meanwhile, his
girlfriend marches out the door, declaring that she needs to spend some time
alone. The act doesn’t even faze Don; this
has obviously happened to him before.
It’s
obvious that there’s a chance Don will never hear from her again, but he
probably thought the same thing years ago.
That was before he received a mysterious pink letter from a past flame,
who claims she had a son that belongs to him.
The
letter doesn’t really interest Don much either.
He figures it is just a practical joke that someone is playing on
him. It does, however, amuse Don’s
neighbor, Winston.
Winston
insists that Don should find out who wrote the letter and meet his son.
He
even goes as far as to plan out a whole trip, including reserving hotel rooms
and renting a Ford Taurus for transportation.
With
his first stop, Don runs into a fast-moving blonde who has a teenage daughter
quickly following in her ways, and Don begins to think that the trip may not be
so bad.
The
second ex-girlfriend he visits is a successful, but homely real estate agent who
is married to an overjoyed comedian.
With
each visit, Don meets an increasingly odd woman, and he quickly begins to
regret making the trip.
But
audience members who make the trip to see “Broken Flowers” will not likely
regret it.
Filled
with moments of laugh-out-loud humor and undeniable truth, “Broken Flowers” is
one of the finest films of the year.
Much
of the praise belongs to Bill Murray, who gives a standout performance
comparable to his Oscar-nominated role in “Lost in Translation.” As Don Johnston,
But
despite some great jokes, “Broken Flowers” stands out amongst this year’s best films
because of its genuine story.
Screenwriter
Jim Jarmusch (who also directs) perfectly depicts the
excitement and nervousness of meeting old flames for the first time in
years.
He
captures the maturity that some people acquire with age and the silliness that others
hold onto. He captures the wealth that
some workers find as they grow older; and the poverty that others struggle to
live with. He captures the truelove that
some find and the loneliness that others live with. But mostly, Jarmusch
just captures our hearts by providing us with the funniest comedy of the year.
Grade: A