Like Watching Flowers Grow
As John Wooden said, "Don't mistake activity for accomplishment." Broken Flowers might be a good example of this.
I've often thought my life would be rather boring were it put on film. Lots of scenes of me watching TV and commuting in my car, maybe making a sandwich or sitting around hating myself for not doing something. My point is that these are not the best things to put to film, at least not without a lot of context.
Broken Flowers slightly resembles High Fidelity, but it deals with a much older man who revisits past flames in search of a typewriter, rather than a younger neurotic who revisits old flames in search of what it means to love.
But where High Fidelity has an engaging soundtrack, with lively characters and dialogue and plenty of self-reflection, Broken Flowers does not. The third act in BF does bring some vitality (a punch in the face and a foot chase with his possible son) but too little too late. The humor was too thin, and the emotional connections between the characters felt synthetic.
Bill Murray was born for this sort of performance. There are similarities to his Lost In Translation character -- a wise and formerly successful businessman ruminating about what was and what could have been -- but we've seen this before, with a more engaging plot. Yes, Mr. Murray plays subtle superbly, but Broken Flowers is too subtle for its own good, as it meanders with little clarity as to where it's going or even where it's been. Maybe that was the point?
This could all be forgiven if the journey had a beat we could dance to, but it's severely lacking, humming its own one-note song. Murray says in the movie: "The past is gone, the future isn't here yet - whatever it's going to be. So all there is, is this. The present." True, but give us something to chew on while we're waiting for the future to arrive, other than scenes of driving around in a car.
I give it 2 *'s out of 4. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood to see this? Perhaps Lori was right to have fallen asleep while watching it? I certainly wish I had.
I've often thought my life would be rather boring were it put on film. Lots of scenes of me watching TV and commuting in my car, maybe making a sandwich or sitting around hating myself for not doing something. My point is that these are not the best things to put to film, at least not without a lot of context.
Broken Flowers slightly resembles High Fidelity, but it deals with a much older man who revisits past flames in search of a typewriter, rather than a younger neurotic who revisits old flames in search of what it means to love.
But where High Fidelity has an engaging soundtrack, with lively characters and dialogue and plenty of self-reflection, Broken Flowers does not. The third act in BF does bring some vitality (a punch in the face and a foot chase with his possible son) but too little too late. The humor was too thin, and the emotional connections between the characters felt synthetic.
Bill Murray was born for this sort of performance. There are similarities to his Lost In Translation character -- a wise and formerly successful businessman ruminating about what was and what could have been -- but we've seen this before, with a more engaging plot. Yes, Mr. Murray plays subtle superbly, but Broken Flowers is too subtle for its own good, as it meanders with little clarity as to where it's going or even where it's been. Maybe that was the point?
This could all be forgiven if the journey had a beat we could dance to, but it's severely lacking, humming its own one-note song. Murray says in the movie: "The past is gone, the future isn't here yet - whatever it's going to be. So all there is, is this. The present." True, but give us something to chew on while we're waiting for the future to arrive, other than scenes of driving around in a car.
I give it 2 *'s out of 4. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood to see this? Perhaps Lori was right to have fallen asleep while watching it? I certainly wish I had.
posted by Eric. Lori. at 1:55 AM
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