Bill Murray has perfected his silent, morose, secretly fragile middle-aged persona. The sad eyes, the puffy skin, the wordless resignation. It was comic in “Rushmore” and “The Life Aquatic” and romantic in “Lost in Translation.” And we can catch it yet again in “Broken Flowers,” the latest minimalist offering from director Jim Jarmusch. Neither director nor actor has broken new ground for themselves in this film. Rather, it’s the natural progression of both careers; the somberly funny star meanders through a slow, thoughtful plot. It is lovely.
“Broken Flowers” tells of Don Johnston (Murray), a man who evidently loves and gets a lot of women but gives us no particular indication of wanting them. He is so still and fatigued at the beginning of the film that lust or love seems far too energetic an undertaking. However, he has a beautiful woman (Julie Delpy) moving out of his house, accusing him of having other girlfriends, while the evidence of past lovers materializes in the form of a letter. It informs him that he fathered a son with the writer 19 years before, but is unsigned.
Don’s vastly more vigorous neighbor (Jeffrey Wright) sees romance and mystery in the situation, and engineers a trip for Don to meet the women who might have had his son and ascertain which wrote the letter. Slowly, barely, Don begins to evince a pulse as he meets up with the women he romanced almost 20 years ago.
I do not mean to suggest that the pace is boring. There is something deeply realistic and grown up about this film that is fascinating and heartbreaking. His encounters with the women, played by Sharon Stone, Francis Conroy, Jessica Lange and Tilda Swinton, are like cryptic haikus, and though brief, give poignant illuminations of their past and current lives.
My favorite part takes place in the large, sterile home of Francis Conroy, now married to a friendly schmuck who runs to get his favorite photo of his wife to show Murray. It is from 20 years before and when he leaves the room, Murray whispers to Conroy, “Didn’t I take that picture?” It is such a perfect moment, so full of life. It speaks volumes.
The word here is understated, a quality I tend to value in films. Murray gives his now usual quiet, oddly tender performance, which really blossoms in the film’s final scenes. It would be hard to describe the end as a satisfying conclusion from a plot standpoint, but his character achieves something. It is passionate yet fleeting, mortifying yet imperative. In other words, very lifelike.
“Broken Flowers” is currently available to rent.
It takes dedication to be a Terry Gilliam fan, even for just one film. He is stupendously creative, visually dazzling, and narratively longwinded and convoluted. I like the movies of his that no one liked (I have “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” and “Time Bandits” on DVD) as well as the successful ones, but it’s increasingly difficult to follow them through to the end. “The Brothers Grimm” is such a film.
I was so excited by the premise. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are ghostbusters, creating the market for their services with the help of actors and special effects. However, when they get caught by the authorities their punishment is to save a village in the clutches of real witches and enchantments. And things get a little foggy after that.
Gilliam has lots of good ideas that cannot survive a bad script. Heath Ledger and Matt Damon are enjoyable enough as the titular brothers, an innocuous beauty helps them, and Monica Bellucci is scary and gorgeously costumed as a witch in a fantastic tower. But none of this adds up to an effective film. It is fun to see storybook characters like Little Red Riding Hood and the Gingerbread Man allegedly make their appearance in the Grimm brothers’ lives before they are immortalized in their stories, but the plot isn’t clever or even cohesive enough for the film to be more than visually compelling.
Gilliam has great ideas and an endearingly strange sensibility, but he needs a good writer or editor to help him tell his stories. Apparently, the famously difficult director is not receptive to the financial bludgeon of the studios he works for; “The Brothers Grimm” is testament to their incompatibility. The faithful Gilliam fans will find things to like about the film, but it’s not winning any converts.
Contact Asia Frey at afrey@lagniappemobile.com.
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