It has a straightforward, cleanly structured story and a few solid laughs amid the existential agonizing.
Broken Flowers (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:181
Fresh:157
Rotten:24
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: Bill Murray's subtle and understated style complements director Jim Jarmusch's minimalist storytelling in this quirky, but deadpan comedy.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, some graphic nudity and brief drug use
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Aug 5, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $13,578,173
Synopsis: With BROKEN FLOWERS, staunchly independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch delivers one of his most pleasing, accessible pictures. Winner of the 2005 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the film tells... With BROKEN FLOWERS, staunchly independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch delivers one of his most pleasing, accessible pictures. Winner of the 2005 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the film tells the story of Don Johnston (Bill Murray), a man overflowing with wealth but void of emotion. On the day that his most recent girlfriend (Julie Delpy) has given up on him for good, he learns, through an anonymous letter, that he might be the father of a 19-year-old boy. Spurned into action by his wannabe private eye neighbor, Winston (Jeffrey Wright), Don sets off on a personal journey to visit the former partners who may or may not have mothered his child. They include the flighty Laura (Sharon Stone), whose daughter Lolita (Alexis Dziena) certainly lives up to her name; the uptight Dora (Frances Conroy), who has settled into a sterile life with her chipper husband, Ron (Christopher McDonald); the strangely distant Carmen (Jessica Lange), who makes a living as an "animal communicator;" and, finally, Penny (Tilda Swinton), a hard-edged biker who is the least happiest to see Don. Each confrontation leaves Don feeling more lost than the last, spinning him into an even greater state of apathetic confusion. In typical Jarmusch fashion, he wrote the script for BROKEN FLOWERS with his casting firmly in mind: only Murray could play this role. The result showcases Murray's brilliance as a less-is-more presence. Jarmusch also gives some of Hollywood's most talented female actresses roles they can relish. A hundred percent Jarmusch, BROKEN FLOWERS is a wry, tender, and bittersweet portrait of a man who is drifting aimlessly through life. [More]
Starring: Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Tilda Swinton
Starring: Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Tilda Swinton, Julie Delpy, Jessica Lange
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Screenwriter: Jim Jarmusch
Producer: Jon Kilik, Stacey E. Smith, Jim Jarmusch
Studio: Focus Features
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Reviews for Broken Flowers
This is a nice return to form for Jarmusch, for his quirky, casual style enlivens the material agreeably, and often hilariously, making for one of his best films to date.
You want to go to Broken Flowers to see Bill Murray put in yet another Oscar-worthy performance
[Bill Murray's] languidness walks a fine line that could have been a detriment to “Broken Flowers” and the helmer/writer handles it with skill.
Rushmore's Herman Blume bored by too many conquests or Lost in Translation's Bob Harris if he'd never left his hotel room
Has some of the same self-absorbed sarcasm that permeates Wes Anderson's films, but unlike Anderson, Jarmusch backs it up with real tenderness and sophistication.
Jarmusch has given the movie an intriguing structure that begins outside Murray's character -- at first, we think he's a lech and a slob -- but gradually gets closer to understanding him.
Has a good deal of off-handed charm and enough satirical moments..to sustain interest, but it's no more than Don Juan Lite, offering a veneer of profundity, lacking in payoff.
It's too cold and too uninterested in talk in general and the stories people tell themselves about their romantic lives in particular to do its premise justice.
Take this trip with him and chances are, you'll find the journey increasingly funny and touching.
Mr. Jarmusch has always worked in the rhythms of the great European directors. With Broken Flowers, he has found a story, and a star, to gracefully match his style.
With Broken Flowers, Jim Jarmusch's sly, touching new film, Bill Murray reaffirms his status as the quietest comic actor in movies today.
Long on atmosphere, light on dialogue and courageously willing to leave its puzzles unresolved.
[Don's] a character far more interesting in his past than his present, and when the film finally arrives at its ambiguous, unsatisfying climax, it provides less closure for the viewer than it does for our protagonist.
Ultimately, the Jarmusch-Murray matchup, for all its flaws, offers a uniquely bittersweet experience, a movie with some broken funny bones and a questioning heart.
With such pointillist precision does Bill Murray create a portrait of the melancholic at midlife in Broken Flowers that he seems perfectly capable of painting The Last Supper with a single eyelash.
As with previous Jarmusch rambles, Broken Flowers risks getting overpowered by aridity and drift. That it barely avoids such a fate can be credited entirely to Murray's graceful empathy with loss and regret.
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| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
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