Broken Flowers (2005)

“Broken Flowers” is an offbeat comedy. I’m using the term “comedy” quite loosely here. Don’t expect some slapstick gag or plenty of ha-ha moments. While it does contain plenty of humour, most of it (or almost all of it) is subtle. None of it is going to have you rolling on the floor. But it’s sure going to keep you chuckling every now and then. But then the movie is not only a “comedy”, it’s also a “drama”. Now these are not two things that quite blend together. And though director Jim Jarmusch has tried to strike a balance between the two, we are still left feeling quite unsatisfied with the final product.

“Broken Flowers” is the story of Don Johnston (Bill Murray). Don, after making a fortune in the “computers”, has now slipped into a life of utter indifference. All he does is just sit on his couch, watch his big plasma TV and listen to some classical music. There’s no passion remaining in him. Don is alive, but he is not “living”. So it’s not surprising that his current girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) decides to leave him. But even then Don remains indifferent. After Sherry leaves him, he just gets back to his couch and sleeps. That one scene is enough to tell us that Don is not a likable character. He is a man of few words and even fewer actions. But then comes the letter in a pink envelop that shakes, though not dramatically, the foundations of Don’s world. It seems that Don, whatever his deficiencies maybe, has a way with the women and has had quite a few girlfriends in the past. But though he has a way with the women, he has never really understood them and therefore has a history of broken relationships. The letter is from one of Don’s old flames informing him that he has a 19-year old son and he’s on a road-trip, possibly to look for his dad. This comes as a shock for Don who knows nothing about this. The letter is not even signed, so Don has no idea who wrote it. At first, Don tries to brush it off. But upon the insistence of his persuasive and enthusiastic neighbor Winston (Jeffrey Wright), he decides to try and find out who wrote him that letter. Winston, who is a sort of amateur crime novel writer, helps Don in narrowing down the possibilities to four women, Laura (Sharon Stone), Dora (Frances Conroy ), Carmen (Jessica Lange) and Penny (Tilda Swinton). Winston also plans Don’s itinerary. So now Don, for the first time in many years, is taking the initiative and doing something. Obviously, this road-trip is not going to be easy at all. On his way, he gets flashed at by “Lolita” (yeah right, Lolita), daughter of one his ex-girlfriend, has an awkward dinner with his other ex-flame and her current husband, meets his another ex-love who is now an animal communicator and a lesbian, gets punched in the face (or as he says “runs into someone’s fist”).

The main problem with the movie is Don himself. The character of Don has not been penned properly. We don’t really understand what was it that caused all those broken relationships. Don’s character is actually an interesting one. However we are not really shown a lot of it. In each of Don’s encounter with his ex-loves, we get a few glimpses into Don’s personality. Like when Dora’s husband shows Don an old photo of a then-hippie Dora, Don remembers that he had taken that photo. We can assume that Don was also a fellow hippie at that time. But we don’t get any explanation as to why he has become so passionless and detached from everything? We get to see Don’s vulnerability in a few scenes. But we don’t really see why he is the way he is. As a result of this, viewers maybe able to identify with only some parts of the character of Don. But as a whole the character seems extremely cold and distant. Another problem in the movie is its vague ending. The movie is about Don’s journey. It’s not about the destination. The ambiguous climax leaves no doubt about this. It’s only after he has travelled many a miles that Don realises how much he has missed in his life. But since the viewers can’t really identify with Don’s character, it becomes a little frustrating as even the final payoff, the identity of the mysterious letter-writer, is denied to them. Also the screen is occupied for the most part by Bill Murray. No other character gets enough screen time to make us care about them. All the other characters get, maybe, 5-10 minutes of screen presence. It’s not really enough and they just seem to be passing through the movie. So the final product leaves us with a bitter taste.

But having said that, I have to confess that the movie is quite a smart one and it provides some genuinely funny moments. Most of these moments come from Don’s over-zealous Ethiopian neighbor, Winston. Jeffrey Wright manages to steal every scene he is in. Then there are some good entertaining moments in Don’s encounters with his ex-flames. Bill Murray does a brilliant job of acting with his facial expressions and body language. He portrays the character almost to perfection. But we wish there was more depth to his character.

“Broken Flowers”didn’t prove to be quite as entertaining as I thought it would be. But it’s a smart movie, though a little too self-indulgent. Despite its flaws, the movie does provide some good entertainment. But I won’t recommend this movie to everyone. Only those who don’t mind watching indie movies may want to try this one.