I have rarely seen a movie handed such a promising premise and yet do so little with it.
In "Broken Flowers," Bill Murray plays an aging Don Juan-type who has had a long succession of girlfriends but never a fully committed, sustained relationship with any of them. On the same day that his latest love interest has decided to move out on him, Don receives an anonymous letter from one of his former girlfriends informing him that he is the father of a 19-year-old son who may be coming around to look for him. Eventually, albeit reluctantly, Don decides to go in search of the four women who could possibly have written the note and find out for himself about the boy he never knew he had.
In typical Jim Jarmusch style, "Broken Flowers" is all windup and very little follow through. The preparation for the trip is done with a great deal of style and subtle humor, as Don first balks at the prospect of tracking down the women, but then relents under the persuasive persistence of Winston, his concerned next door neighbor and first class buttinski. Anticipation is high as Don, filled with curiosity and anxiety, sets off on his journey into the past. Unfortunately, after all the suspense and build-up, not much happens once he gets there. To call his encounters with the ladies "under whelming" would, in itself, be a masterpiece of understatement. For in his effort to avoid melodrama, Jarmusch has pretty much thrown out the drama as well. Yes, we understand that the point is that we never really can go back to the past and make restitution for what we did back then, but does the theme have to be presented in so attenuated, episodic and dramatically inert a way? This is a particular shame considering the caliber of actresses Jarmusch has hired for the occasion: Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy, Sharon Stone and Tilda Swinton, not to mention Chloe Sevigny and Alexis Dziena in even more minor roles. All these women are given so little time on screen that they are unable to develop any truly memorable characters. What a waste. As Don, Murray plays pretty much the same zonked-out, near-catatonic fatalist he did in "Lost in Translation," but he does it so well that he keeps the movie interesting even when it is faltering and trying to figure out where it wants to take us. With the subtlest possible facial expressions - the ever so miniscule tilt of an eyebrow, the barely perceptible half-smile, the sardonic twinkle in his eye - Murray conveys thoroughly what his world-weary character is thinking and feeling. It's another breathtaking performance from a man who began his movie career as a broad comic and will surely end it as a first rate dramatic actor.
Despite the sag in the middle, I must say that "Broken Flowers" ends on a brilliantly sustained high note, a long scene involving Don and a young vagabond that hints at how great the movie could have been had the whole thing been played at this level. The inconclusive ending and the lack of a clear-cut resolution goes a long way towards redeeming much of the rest of the movie as Don comes face-to-face with the emptiness and meaninglessness of his existence. It's a fine finale to a deeply flawed and ultimately unsatisfying film.
In "Broken Flowers," Bill Murray plays an aging Don Juan-type who has had a long succession of girlfriends but never a fully committed, sustained relationship with any of them. On the same day that his latest love interest has decided to move out on him, Don receives an anonymous letter from one of his former girlfriends informing him that he is the father of a 19-year-old son who may be coming around to look for him. Eventually, albeit reluctantly, Don decides to go in search of the four women who could possibly have written the note and find out for himself about the boy he never knew he had.
In typical Jim Jarmusch style, "Broken Flowers" is all windup and very little follow through. The preparation for the trip is done with a great deal of style and subtle humor, as Don first balks at the prospect of tracking down the women, but then relents under the persuasive persistence of Winston, his concerned next door neighbor and first class buttinski. Anticipation is high as Don, filled with curiosity and anxiety, sets off on his journey into the past. Unfortunately, after all the suspense and build-up, not much happens once he gets there. To call his encounters with the ladies "under whelming" would, in itself, be a masterpiece of understatement. For in his effort to avoid melodrama, Jarmusch has pretty much thrown out the drama as well. Yes, we understand that the point is that we never really can go back to the past and make restitution for what we did back then, but does the theme have to be presented in so attenuated, episodic and dramatically inert a way? This is a particular shame considering the caliber of actresses Jarmusch has hired for the occasion: Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy, Sharon Stone and Tilda Swinton, not to mention Chloe Sevigny and Alexis Dziena in even more minor roles. All these women are given so little time on screen that they are unable to develop any truly memorable characters. What a waste. As Don, Murray plays pretty much the same zonked-out, near-catatonic fatalist he did in "Lost in Translation," but he does it so well that he keeps the movie interesting even when it is faltering and trying to figure out where it wants to take us. With the subtlest possible facial expressions - the ever so miniscule tilt of an eyebrow, the barely perceptible half-smile, the sardonic twinkle in his eye - Murray conveys thoroughly what his world-weary character is thinking and feeling. It's another breathtaking performance from a man who began his movie career as a broad comic and will surely end it as a first rate dramatic actor.
Despite the sag in the middle, I must say that "Broken Flowers" ends on a brilliantly sustained high note, a long scene involving Don and a young vagabond that hints at how great the movie could have been had the whole thing been played at this level. The inconclusive ending and the lack of a clear-cut resolution goes a long way towards redeeming much of the rest of the movie as Don comes face-to-face with the emptiness and meaninglessness of his existence. It's a fine finale to a deeply flawed and ultimately unsatisfying film.