Flowers."
Jim Jarmusch has definitely created one of his more accessible
works, but in the trade-off seems to have nonetheless footnoted
his film with a non-satisfying ending.
Or has he?
In the tale of aging lethario Don Johnston (Bill Murray), who's
received an anonymous letter from an ex-girlfriend revealing that
he has a teenage son, Jarmusch seems to imply that we have the
answers right in front us -- we just need to look a little deeper.
With the help of his nosy, perky, hard-working neighbor Winston
(the excellent Jeffrey Wright), Don sets out to meet four of his old
lovers to discover if he did indeed father a child nearly two decades
ago.
I wish I could look back on Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica
Lange, and Tilda Swinton as my former lovers in 30 years' time.
With each visit, Don looks for clues -- the color pink, like his letter;
an old typewriter; photos revealing additional family members -- to
piece his personal puzzle together.
Some of his encounters are hilarious. (Stone in particular has a
very, shall we say, "outgoing" daughter named Lolita.) Others, like
his meetings with Conroy and Swinton, reveal frayed endings to
their relationships that might have changed both parties for the
worse. Lange's encounter is truly bizarre (she plays an "animal
communicator"), but is right in step with Jarmusch's black-comedy
outsider vibe.
Along the way Don discovers that his life is indeed an aimless
journey. To the unsuspecting viewer, "Broken Flowers" might seem
that way as well. But look deeper, and all that Don seeks is actually
quite clear: Who has sent him on his journey, and what did that
person hope it would accomplish?
