Broken Flowers

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© A.J. Malouin 2008

(Rating: 4 by Al.)
(See our side-bar page “How Caryl & Al Rate Movies”)

(2005/USA/France. Directed by Jim Jarmusch.)
Here in America, minimalism is a tough sell. Because we are soooooo Gunked Over With Things, we hesitate to enjoy any movie that isn’t as stupid-cluttered and over-noisy as, say, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” a movie that was released around the same time as “Broken Flowers.” When we therefore find a film that tsunamis the minimalism of actor Bill Murray with the minimalism of Jim Jarmusch, we are faced with a tough sell. Both Murray’s and Jarmusch’s brilliant careers, however, make renting “Broken Flowers” A Necessity.

First of all, to get the story out of the way, “Broken Flowers” involves Murray’s visit to four ex-lovers in an attempt to discover whether one of them has mothered a now 19-year-old son Murray never knew he had. Murray heads off, reluctantly, on this quest after supposedly receiving an anonymous letter from one of these ex-lovers.

Murray’s journey to deadpan minimalism wuz well under way in “Ghostbusters.” He probably perfected it in 2004’s “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.” In “Broken Flowers,” Murray takes the deadpan into what some would describe as comatose depression. He pops out of it long enough to take us on his quest to visit the four ex-lovers. (Five if you count the grave-side visit.) It’s a very entertaining trip for us, all told, even if Murray doesn’t look as if it’s Any fun for him.

What can we write of writer/director Jim Jarmusch? His minimalism filmmaking powers were already in full blossom during his stunning, amusing “Stranger Than Paradise,” superbly crafted in 1984. In 1999’s equally stunning “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” Jarmusch applied his minimalist filmmaking to the seemingly totally violent world of the professional assassin. In “Broken Flowers,” he addresses the ending of one love affair after another, all of Murray’s Broken Flowers— each of which started out sooooo promisingly, bloomed soooo brightly and then stumbled into oblivion.

To bookend all Murray’s journeys through allllll his oblivions, we are given the status of his current love affair. At the film’s beginning we are shown his current lover, Sherry, (played by Julie Delpy!) as she walks out on him. At the film’s end, Murray has received a letter from Sherry, saying that she still loves him. Murray shows absolutely no reaction to this news.

The Broken Flowers have left him broken and empty, as well.

Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone and Tilda Swinton turn in wonderful performances as the four ex-lovers. There are also flesh-tingling performances by Alexis Dziena as Lolita and Chloe Sevigny, as Jessica Lange’s “assistant.”

Who wrote the letter which sets Murray off? Will Murray will find his son? Does Murray even have a son? Allllll these audience questions, and many others, become less and less important as Murray’s quest unfolds. At the end of the unresolved quest, we are left with Murray staring deadpan into the camera…which is exactly where we came in. Pondering this imponderable, we are left saying “Ahhhh…Murray!” and “Ahhhh…Jarmusch!” (1 hour 45)