Truly Dreadful Film

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Bill Murray's character gets a letter in the mail informing him he has a 19 year old son. His next door bohemian neighbor encourages Bill to go on an ultimately fruitless quest to see if any of his former lovers from 19 years earlier (there were 5 and one had since passed away) were the genesis of the anonymous letter! The visit with Sharon Stones character went well but she clearly wasn't the sender, two visits were uncomfortable and neither of them were candidates either and the final visit went very, very badly (Tilda Swinton's character, who looks remarkably different in every movie I see her in) and she clearly wasn't the genesis of the letter either and in the process of that final visit Bill gets beat up! Actually the final visit was to the grave site of the former lover who had passed away. So we never find out who sent the letter but I guess that was the annoying point! At any rate it's a good watch and I thoroughly recommend the film!

Don Johnston (Bill Murray) is a bit of a Don Juan although he doesn't like the comparison. He made a small fortune in computer and lives in isolation in his home watching old movies. His girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) leaves him. A letter arrives from a former lover with news of a teen son approaching 19. His neighbor and friend Winston (Jeffrey Wright) is an amateur sleuth and plans out an excursion to track down his former lovers. Laura (Sharon Stone) has flirtatious daughter Lolita (Alexis Dziena). Dora (Frances Conroy) is married to stuffy Ron (Christopher McDonald). Carmen (Jessica Lange) has an assistant (Chloë Sevigny) in a pet therapist business. Penny (Tilda Swinton) has biker friends.Bill Murray is more deadpan than usual in this one. It's in addition to Jim Jarmusch's minimalist style. It is very much his style and for fans of his work. The tone is not broadly comedic. There are sporadic chuckles but it's not enough for me to like. It's a little too quiet in this quietly funny film.

Even though Bill Murray was in this, I think serious roles don't suit him as an actor. We all know him from being funny but, I think this is a let down for him. I think he would've been better off if he was retired earlier or even better, help out with the crew developing the film. I just thought he would benefit from being on "behind the scenes". The role should've at least gone to someone else. Someone who would do a better job than Murray. I am disappointed, I really like Bill Murray but, I just think he didn't do it enough to be a better "Don Johnson"!Avoid watching this!

With the high rating on IMDb and a very impressive cast, then I must admit that I had initially expected something more extraordinary from this movie. Having seen it now, I will say that I sit here with a 'was that it?' sensation as the movie came to an end.The storyline was just a bit too simplistic to fully be all that entertaining and the movie was just lacking momentum. It just never got out of first gear and into speed. And even with an impressive cast putting on great performances, then they could not muster to lift the storyline up to a more entertaining level. And I think that director Jim Jarmusch didn't really fully rise to the occasion.What makes "Broken Flowers" watchable and actually worth watching is the impressive performance by Bill Murray, along with some great supporting acting from Sharon Stone, Jessica Lange and Tilda Swinton. Bill Murray was really in his ace in the role of Don Johnston, just a shame that the storyline was a ball and chain around his ankle.Having seen "Broken Flowers" once, I can honestly say that I am not going to Watch it a second time, because it just doesn't have that much weight to sustain multiple viewings.