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Jeffrey Wright (left) plays Winston, a wannabe detective trying to help Don

Broken Flowers is the reverse of Murray's zany classic Groundhog Day. In Harold Ramis's comedy, Murray got to relive the same day over and over, behaving differently while circumstances and surroundings stayed put. Here, his surroundings keep changing, but he maintains the same reluctance and stoicism throughout, so beleaguered by his mistakes that he can't muster the energy to pursue a thing.

To regular moviegoers, it will feel like an art film; to art house patrons, it will feel mainstream. They'll both be right. It's a film that follows a simple storyline, and yet seizes every opportunity to turn a cliché into something slightly dissatisfying, slightly sour, with deep emotions and complicated thoughts running in barely perceptible currents under the sparse dialogue. With the help of Frederick Elmes' graceful cinematography, Jarmusch is a true artist who never steers matters toward an obvious lesson, inviting us to arrive at our own interpretations.

But it is interesting that the only glimmers of real joy in the film can be found in Winston's thriving family. During Don's four-city tour, he finds former flames in various phases of dissatisfaction or delusion. Glamour? It fades and reveals the emptiness beneath it. Success? It's no substitute for contentment. New Age hocus-pocus? Yikes. The continual misapprehensions of Don's real name ("Don Johnson?") bring to mind a popular ideal of the stylish, confident American male. This, we might conclude, is where the path of the macho seducer ultimately leads—to ruin, regret, and rumination on what might have been. Don's journey peels back the surface of so many American dreams to find them wanting, while Winston, dodging his kids and doting on his "perfect" wife, seems as rich as a king.

Jessica Lange plays Carmen, one of Don's lost loves

Broken Flowers has only one thing working against it: Murray's been playing sullen, withdrawn characters a bit too often. The fact that we've recently seen him sulk through Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation (still his finest performance), and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (another film about a man discovering fatherhood too late), blunts the impact of this, another brilliant performance.

Nevertheless, Broken Flowers' conclusion will send audiences out talking about what it means. But take note: Only the watchful will perceive the subtle significance of that final shot. It finally resolves the central tension of the story. Some critics are missing it, concluding that Don is doomed to the doldrums of disillusionment. But there is a crucial difference in the "hero" during our final, poignant glimpse of him. To say more would be telling, but it could be the key to his redemption.

So, do the film's fleeting moments of explicit content make it entirely unacceptable? That's for each viewer and their conscience to decide. Mature viewers who give Broken Flowers a chance may find themselves refreshed by a movie that invites them to ponder a common experience of regret, to "weep with those who weep," and to contemplate the possibility of redemption and grace. That's a nice change from films that treat us like thrill-seeking children (The Island, anyone?). Where Hitchcock insisted his films were not slices of life, but slices of cake, Jarmusch's are savory servings of life, and they deserve to be treated as delicacies.

Talk About It

1. Compare and contrast Don's encounters with his ex-lovers. What were the strengths of each relationship? What were the weaknesses?
   
   
2. We are given very few clues about why each relationship ended. What do you think Don needs to learn before he can experience lasting true love?
   
   
3. Compare Winston's life to Don's. What are the differences? Why do you suppose Don is in such awe of Winston's wife? Why does Don respect Winston enough to let him meddle so much in his life?
   
   

The Family Corner

The film's harsh language, uses of the Lord's name in vain, and a scene of abrupt and explicit female nudity make this film highly inappropriate not only for children, but for grownups who might be led into lustful thoughts by such imagery. (The scene is not intended or presented as pornography, but to put us in Don's shoes in a disorienting and dismaying situation.) There is also a scene of brief but jolting violence.

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