Broken Flowers
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Broken Flowers is a 2005 drama/comedy film directed and written by Jim Jarmusch and produced by Jon Kilik and Stacey Smith. It stars Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, and Julie Delpy. It opened August 5, 2005 in limited release.
In 2005 Cannes Film Festival, the film was nominated for "Golden Palm" Award and won "Grand Prize of the Jury".
The film is dedicated to French director Jean Eustache. In an interview, Jarmusch said he felt close to Eustache for his commitment to making films in a unique and independent fashion.
- Tagline: Sometimes life brings some strange surprises.
Plot
The main character, Don Johnston (Murray), receives an anonymous letter, allegedly from an unnamed former girlfriend informing him that he has a 19-year-old son who may be looking for him. At the same time, his current girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) moves out. Don has lived the life of an archetypal womanizer, a "Don Juan", and any one of several former girlfriends may have written the letter. He initially doesn't intend to do anything with the information, but his friend and neighbor Winston (Jeffrey Wright), a mystery and detective enthusiast, convinces him to visit the four possible mothers:
- Laura (Sharon Stone) works as closet and drawer organizer and is the widow of a race car driver. She has a "jailbait" daughter, Lolita (Alexis Dziena), who flirts with Don and walks around the house naked in front of him.
- Dora (Frances Conroy) is a realtor who hasn't yet let go of her past; once a flower child of the 60s, she appears very brittle and on the verge of exploding out of her confining life. Her controlling husband, Ron (Christopher McDonald), invites Don to an awkward dinner of fish, rice and chopped carrots. The food is presented with almost architectural precision.
- Carmen (Jessica Lange) works as an "animal communicator." Don recalls how she was formerly so passionate about becoming a lawyer, among other things. But "passion is a funny thing," she says.
- Penny (Tilda Swinton) lives in the country amongst blue-collar motorcycle enthusiasts. Having left Don years ago, she has no desire to reconcile with him now. When Don asks her whether she has a son, she gets upset; Don is beaten up by her friends as a result. He awakens the next morning in his rental car in the middle of a field. He has a nasty cut around his left eye as a result of the confrontation.
Disillusioned, Don returns home where he meets a young man in the street (Mark Webber) who he suspects may be his son. He buys him food, but when he remarks that the young man may wonder whether Don is his father, the young man becomes upset and flees. As Don looks on, he notices a Volkswagen Beetle drive past. The young man in the passenger seat (played by Homer Murray[link] son of lead actor Bill Murray) is listening to music which Don himself listens to throughout the movie. This "Kid in Car" with eyes of the exact same color as Don's, holds unblinking eye contact with Don while the car drives on and away. Don is left standing in the middle of the road.
Soundtrack
The original filmscore was written and performed by Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke. Other featured artists on the soundtrack are, amongst others, Holly Golightly, Sleep, and Marvin Gaye.
Trivia
- Bill Murray's son in real life, Homer Murray, actually has a credited appearance at the end of the movie. He is credited as "Kid in Car".[link]
- In writing what would be on the pink letter, Jim Jarmusch asked each of the four female leads to write a version of the letter from the point of view of their respective characters, and used an amalgamation of those four letters in the finished film.
- ''Broken Flowers]] is said to be inspired by an idea from Jarmusch's wife, the film director Sara Driver.[link]
Cast
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- Bill Murray – Don Johnston
- Jeffrey Wright – Winston
- Sharon Stone – Laura Daniels Miller
- Frances Conroy – Dora Anderson
- Christopher McDonald – Ron Anderson
- Jessica Lange – Dr. Carmen Markowski
- Tilda Swinton – Penny
- Julie Delpy – Sherry
- Alexis Dziena – Lolita Miller
- Chloë Sevigny – Carmen's Assistant
- Pell James – Sun Green
- Mark Webber – The Kid
External links
- [Official site]
- [Broken Flowers on Rotten Tomato]
- [Article on Jarmusch and Broken Flowers] Alternate Takes
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