Review: Broken Flowers (A-)

Broken Flowers (2005)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Starring Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Tilda Swinton, Jessica Lange
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: A-

Review by Scott Standish

Jim Jarmusch has settled into a groove. He continues to paint these wonderful pictures of strange characters that are human, real and at the same time, almost comical. He tells amazing stories with wonderful dialogue and he keeps the audience on their toes. Broken Flowers, Jarmusch's latest, is quite possibly his best film to date. It is not to be missed.

Bill Murray stars as Don Johnston, an aging Don Juan that has been through a million relationships. His girlfriend of several years has just left him. He has also received a letter, unsigned, from an ex-girlfriend telling him that he has a son. He takes the letter to his neighbor, played by Jeffrey Wright (Basquiat), a self-styled Sherlock Holmes. His neighbor plans out a trip for him. Why not visit your ex-girlfriends and see if any of them are the mother. Murray reluctantly agrees and he ventures across the U.S. meeting up with ex-girlfriends.

Each gal has gone in different directions and it is amazing to watch the laid back Murray react to them. Bill Murray (Royal Tenenbaums, Groundhog Day) has a sensitivity that shines through this character, similar to his character in the wonderful film Lost In Translation. He knows that he has made some good choices and some bad choices along the way. And as he says in Broken Flowers, all we really have is the here and now.

Broken Flowers features wonderful performances from Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone (Casino) and Jessica Lange. The photography by Frederick Elmes is wonderful (as usual) and the pacing is right on. Broken Flowers is a fantastic little film. If you haven't seen it, rent it. If you saw it and liked it, go buy it.