Broken Flowers

Long moments in writer-director Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers are spent with the sight of Bill Murray staring wordlessly into space. There’s so much going on behind his sad eyes that words aren’t necessary. Murray plays Don Johnston, a mid-50s Don Juan who’s just been dumped by his much younger girlfriend (Julie Delpy) and gotten a letter, possibly from a girlfriend of 20 years ago, mentioning a son he’s never met. Don goes on a trek, orchestrated by his friend (a hilarious Jeffrey Wright), to revisit old girlfriends and find out the truth behind the letter. Murray is terrific, as are Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton and Sharon Stone as the girlfriends. A funny, sometimes dark look at an emotionally suppressed man seeking redemption, it’s among Jarmusch’s best.