Entertaining, but not destined for classic status
Added 10/27/2009
In Jim Jarmusch's 2005 film BROKEN FLOWERS, Bill Murray stars as Don Johnston, a aging womanizer who in his mid-50s has yet to settle down. Just after his latest girlfriend leaves him, calling him an "over the hill Don Juan", he receives a letter from a woman claiming that they had a son together, who has now set off in search of his father. The letter has no signature, but Don's neighbour Winston (Jeffrey Wright), who fancies himself something of a sleuth, thinks that Don can track down the sender. After Winston has Don right down a list of four women who might be the mother, he sends Don off to visit them. As Don visits these women (played by Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy and Tilda Swinton), his reception gets progressively worse. The film's lacks a true conclusion, but nonetheless the ending seems satisfying.
I found BROKEN FLOWERS worthwhile enough on the first viewing, but I have no found it to have much staying power. The interactions between Don and the women he visits, on reflection, are not very believable. Bill Murray had been playing increasingly stoic roles over the preceding decades, from RUSHMORE through THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS and THE LIFE AQUATIC, but here he seems to have fallen almost into self-parody.
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a favorite film!
Added 9/28/2009
Bill Murray at his best. How could I have never heard about this movie? Wonderful soundtrack.
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Quietly involving
Added 8/12/2009
The Bottom Line:
This story of a jaded middle-aged man (Bill Murray) visiting various ex-girlfriends to see if he sired a child with one of them has no romance or excitement but it's a good character study from Jarmusch and a fine film; if you're interested in the new Bill Murray (who, as in Lost in Translation, eschews sarcasm for weariness) or the director then by all means rent Broken Flowers.
3/4
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Embarking on a journey of past
Added 7/5/2009
Very few, infact very few films are genuine, bold and just engaging enough to fill your eyes and glue them to the screen. 'Broken flowers' is one of those films. You get the initial impression that the charecters you witness on screen, are genuine, realistic and so are the situations. Bill Murray plays the charecter called Don and you are forced to think from Don's point of view, from his eyes. Bill Murray is almost perfect in his role and makes you think what would it be like to be in Don's shoes. Its the story about Don, his present and then certain things that introduce us to some of his old aqcuaintances, takes him and us to a journey to his past. Its truely a beautiful piece of cinema, very genuine and Bill Murray steals the show easily. Watch out for Tilda Swinton, her role is brief but her performence is just beyond words. A silent drama not to be missed at all. I am happy to own the dvd.
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The back of Bill Murray's head
Added 4/13/2009
The problems with Broken Flowers are not so much caused by the movie--although it is very slow paced, enough to drive some people insane--but by the marketing. This movie is not hilarious, it's not a comedy at all; that a film has a couple of moments where you laugh does not make it a comedy. Nor does the casting of a primarily comedic actor in the lead make it a comedy. When Murray re-made The Razor's Edge, he explicitly said, "This is not a comedy" to every talk show host who would listen. But the studio undercut him by sending along a clip of the only funny moment in the entire film. And so here as well. Murray does nothing to make this a comedy; he clearly wants to be taken as a 'serious' actor. But someone in marketing thought that would be the kiss of death. So they've labelled a dark study of a man alone as hilarious and a comedy; it's actually a tragedy. Murray's character is emotionally detached from everyone, and has no understanding of how to reconnect. I'm reminded of Camus. Murray rarely shows any expression at all; the director emphasizes this by showing repeated shots of the back of Murray's head. What happens in this film is that nothing happens. Those flowers are broken for a reason--exactly what that reason is we are never told, nor do we particularly need to know--and no florist's trick can ever heal them. Going to a film with wildly wrong expectations can ruin the experience for a lot of people--no one on the creative side was done any favors by Hollywood's relentless quest for the dollar.
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Entertaining, but not destined for classic status
Added 10/27/2009
In Jim Jarmusch's 2005 film BROKEN FLOWERS, Bill Murray stars as Don Johnston, a aging womanizer who in his mid-50s has yet to settle down. Just after his latest girlfriend leaves him, calling him an "over the hill Don Juan", he receives a letter from a woman claiming that they had a son together, who has now set off in search of his father. The letter has no signature, but Don's neighbour Winston (Jeffrey Wright), who fancies himself something of a sleuth, thinks that Don can track down the sender. After Winston has Don right down a list of four women who might be the mother, he sends Don off to visit them. As Don visits these women (played by Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy and Tilda Swinton), his reception gets progressively worse. The film's lacks a true conclusion, but nonetheless the ending seems satisfying.
I found BROKEN FLOWERS worthwhile enough on the first viewing, but I have no found it to have much staying power. The interactions between Don and the women he visits, on reflection, are not very believable. Bill Murray had been playing increasingly stoic roles over the preceding decades, from RUSHMORE through THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS and THE LIFE AQUATIC, but here he seems to have fallen almost into self-parody.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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a favorite film!
Added 9/28/2009
Bill Murray at his best. How could I have never heard about this movie? Wonderful soundtrack.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Quietly involving
Added 8/12/2009
The Bottom Line:
This story of a jaded middle-aged man (Bill Murray) visiting various ex-girlfriends to see if he sired a child with one of them has no romance or excitement but it's a good character study from Jarmusch and a fine film; if you're interested in the new Bill Murray (who, as in Lost in Translation, eschews sarcasm for weariness) or the director then by all means rent Broken Flowers.
3/4
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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