Broken Flowers

Genre: black comedy
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Release: 2005
Studio: Five Roses, Bac Majestic - Focus Features
Rating: R
MBiS score: 7.4/10


The One That Got Away


Don Johnston (Bill Murray) may have hit pay dirt in the tech industry but that doesn’t mean his life is all fun and games. On the day we meet him, his girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) unceremoniously dumps him and, almost simultaneously, he receives an anonymous letter revealing a secret that was hidden from him these last twenty years. With Jeffrey Wright (Winston, Don’s friend and neighbour), Heather Simms (Mona, Winston’s wife), Sharon Stone (Laura), Frances Conroy, Christopher McDonald, Chloë Sevigny, Jessica Lange and Tilda Swinton.

For all intents and purposes, Bill Murray has reprised in BROKEN FLOWERS the role of a cold and seemingly unconcerned man he played so effectively in LOST IN TRANSLATION; whether uninvolved or utterly stunned by the sudden realization of past events, Murray’s almost catatonic performance fits the mood to a T. Luckily for his character on screen, the film’s recipe doesn’t include complicated mixings or sourish moral judgments but smidgens of truth and reconciliation, a pinch of humour, some well-ordered irony and crunchy, ambiguous dialogues. As an aside, I simply loved the movie’s opening sequence and was surprised by its lively music score.

However, for all its dry wit, hipness and charm, BROKEN FLOWERS is not the gourmet dinner you could expect from the talented people assembled here but a relaxed meal with a few dear and trusted friends. And if, like me, you find the main course a bit dull and flavourless, simply lean back and wait for dessert. In due time, you will be served an adroit and even eerie denouement, a treat pleasing enough to send you home with a smile on your face while your hosts get stuck with the dishes.

All in all, you could do a lot worse than spend some time on this amusing little movie that wowed the Cannes crowd… but don’t get your hopes too high. In my book, this low-key production rates somewhat higher than LOST IN TRANSLATION but still offers lightweight fare and nothing more.


MBiS

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