“MEMORY LANES”

By Raymond Benson

Bill Murray was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar in 2003 for Lost in Translation and afterwards naturally pursued other roles that might showcase his talent for blending comedy, pathos, and a unique cynicism that only he can exhibit.

Enter quirky indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, whose deadpan comedy-dramas (such as Stranger Than Paradise from 1984, recently reviewed here) seem made for someone like Murray. Together they made Broken Flowers, perhaps Jarmusch’s most mainstream picture, and yet it still retains the director’s oddball sensibility. And Murray is terrific—he’s in every scene and carries the picture with aplomb.

Don Johnston (Murray) is a former “computer guy” who made a lot of money, but apparently he was also something of a lothario in the old days—a “Don Juan,” as some call him. Now, though, he sits around the house, watches television, and keeps a low profile, especially since his current girlfriend (Julie Delpy) has just left him. One day an anonymous letter shows up at his door; it’s purportedly from an ex-girlfriend from around 20 years earlier. She claims that she had Don’s son, and although the 19-year-old boy doesn’t know the details, he is now “looking for his father” and might show up on Don’s doorstep. Don’s next-door neighbor (Jeffrey Wright) convinces Don to go searching for the handful of women he was seeing at the time and find out who sent the letter. Thus, Don flies/drives around the country to make unannounced house calls on his former lovers (Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, and Tilda Swinton), who receive him with very mixed reactions.

To say more would spoil what is a delightful, if ambiguous, love letter to memories, old flames, lost chances, and regrets. (Interestingly, the movie was originally titled Dead Flowers during filming.) The acting is tops, with the four main women each making the most of their special sequences with the star. Swinton is unrecognizable, of course, as a biker chick with heavy glamour makeup and long black hair.

Kino Lorber’s new 1920x1080p Blu-ray is high definition bliss, crystal clear and with colors that are vivid and sharp. With your choice of 5.1 Surround or 2.1 Stereo audio.

Supplements include a short film with voice-over narration by Jarmusch showing behind-the scenes footage of a scene in which Murray gets into an altercation with Swinton’s biker friends; an edited-together montage of outtakes; an extended scene; the theatrical trailer; and other Kino Lorber trailers.

Broken Flowers could be called an anti-rom-com, but in my book that means it’s probably a fine choice of a picture to watch with a loved one.

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