warning:
spoilers
Sophia
Coppola’s acclaimed sophomore feature Lost
In Translation forever changed my opinion of Bill Murray.
Before that, in spite of notable work in The Royal Tennenbaums,
Rushmore, and even, to some degree, Groundhog Day,
I couldn’t watch him in anything without thinking of his
trademark obnoxious comedic style which involved smug mugging
for the camera, as in Stripes, Meatballs, and
the list goes on.
With
Broken Flowers, written and directed by influential indie-film
god Jim Jarmusch, Murray not only continues this admirable acting
streak, but blossoms in new and unexpected ways. As well-to-do
software mogul Don Johnston, with a “t,” a name that
not only earns him a few snickers from strangers (as in “You’re
Don Johnson?”), but also fits as a label for his Don Juan,
love-‘em-and-leave-‘em persona and reputation, Murray
is an unlikely stud.
But
he embarks on a journey of self-discovery after receiving an anonymous
hand-addressed but typewritten letter from an old flame, just
as his current flame Sherry (Julie Delpy) is leaving him, informing
him on her way out that a nineteen year old son he didn’t
know existed is on a quest to find him (shades of The Life
Aquatic).
With
the aid of next door neighbor Winston (the always amazing Jeffrey
Wright of Angels In America fame), an amateur sleuth
and father of a considerable brood, Don sets off on a trip in
which he plans to arrive unannounced at the homes of four of the
five women with whom he was involved twenty years earlier (the
fifth is deceased) to determine the source of the letter.
First
stop is the home of Laura (Sharon Stone), a blonde bombshell
and race car driver widow whose aptly named teenage daughter Lolita
(Alexis Dziena) goes out of her way to live up to her namesake.
Stone’s comedic chops are in good shape and her scenes with
Murray are memorable, amusing and touching.
After
determining that Laura is not the mother of his son, Don’s
next stop is the home of childless Dora (Frances Conroy), one
half of a successful real estate team with husband Ron (Christopher
McDonald). Murray’s craggy but expressive face is put to
good use in this scene as it contains a minimum of dialogue, although
neither Murray nor Conroy need to speak to get their meanings
across.
In
what is the movie’s subtlest, and queerest touch, Don meets
with ex-girlfriend (and animal communicator) Carmen (Jessica Lange).
Used to having women, even exes, still react to him in a passionate
manner, Don is frustrated at the wall Carmen constructs between
them. Even Carmen’s assistant (Chloe Sevigny) is not taken
in by him. Following a tense conversation in her office, Carmen
walks Don to his car, where her assistant, comes to fetch her
and remind her of her next appointment.
After
whispering something in Carmen’s ear, her assistant’s
hand slides down to Carmen’s side, her hip and then brushes
her thigh, revealing to Don, and the audience, why he is powerless
with these two women.
His
final visit, the one that holds the most promise, is
to the ramshackle mountain home of Penny (an almost unrecognizable
Tilda Swinton), who is none too glad to see Don. In fact, one
of her male companions works done over pretty good. Returning
home, Don appears defeated until he spies a kid (Mark Webber)
he thinks might be his itinerant son at the airport, and then
again later in town.
These
scenes, which are some of the film’s funniest and most emotional,
take the viewer to yet another level of intrigue, allowing the
experience to continue to bloom in the most entertaining and fragrant
ways.
Get
Broken Flowers on DVD
