Review of Broken Flowers (2005) by Eric F — 02 Aug 2008

Films with a lack of closure never really bother me. While the majority of casual movie goers will curse and shout at the end of a film like "No Country for Old Men", I simply accept it and try to figure out why it did end that way... and more often than not, there was no need for anymore "closure". The ending of "Broken Flowers" is controversial and many people hated it, but that being said I do feel that it does fit into the "ends just right" category. The problem is that by that point i'm not sure anything could have bothered me - I couldn't have cared less about any of the characters in the film.

"Broken Flowers" stars Bill Murray, who has become quite the indie darling over the past decade. From "Rushmore" to "Lost in Translation", he's certainly become a master at subtle deadpan comedy. This, of course, is odd coming from the man who made his name in films like "Caddyshack" as an over-the-top bumbling moron. In this film, Murray's character is Don Johnston, a successful retired man who just had another failed attempt at a relationship. However, shortly after Shelly (Julie Delpy) walks out on him, a strange letter arrives telling him that he has a son. The problem? He's not sure which one of the girls from his past wrote the letter.

Luckily for Don, his next door neighbor, Winston (Jeffrey Wright), is an aspiring mystery writer and amateur sleuth. Boy, that's convenient! After a night of heavy researching, Winston is able to provide addresses for four of Don's ex-girlfriends and creates an itinerary for the trip (what would've happened had the first girl been the right one?). Although the idea of this trip is essentially for Don to reflect on his past and see what could have been, I had a hard time believing that the ultimate couch potato wouldn't simply resort to four simple phone calls. The four women he does visit all have vibrant personalities... so vibrant, they become caricatures. There's Laura (Sharon Stone) and her daughter Lolita (Alexis Dziena), both seductresses, Dora (Frances Conroy), a straight-laced realtor living in an example home, Carmen (Chloe Sevigny), an animal communicator, and finally Penny (Tilda Swinton), a hardass biker girl.

Although I loved Murray's deadpan delivery in both "Lost in Translation" and "Rushmore", it didn't completely work for me in this film. There was still plenty of charm to combat Murray's void of expression in "Lost in Translation", but here he comes off as the most uncharismatic and boring person you've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, Murray's performance isn't boring to watch - but for a character we're expected to invest so heavily in, I would've liked to see some more human qualities. Luckily, all the women in the film are over-the-top which fills in for a lack of character in Don... but at the same time, the women are so unbelievable that I couldn't invest in the picture. After I had met two of the girls, all I could do is think "What gimmick is next? A circus performer?" Although they did get limited screentime, I would have preferred a little bit more than "the biker one", "the sexy one", and "the chick that talks with animals".

The whole concept of "Broken Flowers" and it's set up is incredibly contrived. It seemed as though the characters were written only within the script... I felt like you'd never see these people in the real world. For instance, the whole character of Winston as an amateur sleuth was just so he can aid Murray's quest to finding these women. I didn't feel like anyone outside of Don was a real character - they all just came off as a simple plot device. It just didn't work for me.

That being said, I didn't hate the film at all. There were a lot of things I liked about it. I think that the ending was the film's strongest and most powerful point. Although it's inconclusive, one must remember that this is not meant to be a mystery film. This is more of a story of self-discovery... therefore, you don't really need to come to any sort of answer or ending. It's simply about a man confronting his past. But, like I said before, after what I felt was a sub-par build up, I can't blame anyone who felt cheated at the end of the film.

I didn't hate this at all, but it did greatly disappoint me. I love Murray's subtle facial movements and deadpan comedy as much as the next guy, but I felt that "Lost in Translation"s strengths were "Broken Flowers" downfalls.