Broken Flowers [DVD]

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Bill Murray stars in this poised and off-beat comedy drama from writer-director Jim Jarmusch. Don Johnson (Murray) has always avoided committment, but after he splits up from his latest girlfriend, Sherry (Julie Delpy), he receives an anonymous letter cling he has a son who is trying to look for him. Don decides to analyse his past relationships with women instead of immediately moving on to the next one, a process that takes him on a cross-country search for his old girlfriends and the one who might have some idea about the mystery of his son. Tilda Swinton and Sharon Stone also star in cameo roles. From .co.uk ----------- Don Johnston is an empty man. He’s not short of money, thanks to his considerable success with computers, but he is short of emotion, and very much alone. Yet as the latest woman in his life exits stage left, he receives a mysterious note. In it, he learns of a son he never knew he had, with no clues whatsoever to his identity. And so begins Broken Flowers. Primarily a road movie, it follows Johnston as he tracks back over his past romances and flings, in an attempt to find out who mothered his child, and ultimately, to meet his son. It’s not a task he’s too keen on, and one primarily undertaken at the urging of his next door neighbour. Yet it does make for a compelling film, anchored by yet another superb performance from Bill Murray, as Johnston. The equal of his work in Lost In Translation, he’s very much the heart of this slow, diligent movie, that doesn’t answer the majority of the questions it poses, yet proves to be something well worth seeking out. And he’s well supported too, not least by Sharon Stone, who turns in lively, yet measured, work as one of Johnston’s exes. Still, Broken Flowers is clearly not a movie for everybody, with its relaxed pace and willingness to not worry about ticking every box unlikely to earn it truly mass appeal. But it is a little gem in its own right, and a strong addition to an already weight back catalogue for indie moviemaker Jim Jarmusch. It’s worth it alone for Murray, yet Broken Flowers is a movie with plenty else going for it too. Perhaps you might like to give it a try…?--Simon Brew