Unfair review #4
Went to Broken Flowers at the Film Festival on Sunday evening. It was the last movie in the festival here, and I'd been really looking forward to it.
Dead Man is still one of my favourite films of all time, it can hardly be beat, and I loved Coffee and Cigarettes, so Jim Jarmusch is down as one of my favourites. Shit, nearly forgot about Ghost Dog!
I also quite like Bill Murray - he doesn't seem to mind taking the piss out of himself, or playing roles that seem uncomfortably close to the real person. Plus, Ghostbusters played a fairly important part in my childhood.
Aaaaaaaaanyway, Broken Flowers is great. I think I really enjoy films that don't necessarily have an explanation for everything, and leave you to draw your own conclusions (or not).
There are lots of interesting characters, and only the slightest indication of how they became that way - no stupid exposition scenes or anything. I imagine some people find this frustrating, but I really like it. It seems more real to me - I mean, when you meet someone new and quirky, you don't usually get a potted history of what made them that way. They're just weird in isolation (until you know them better).
Tilda Swinton's character Penny was a particularly good example of this. She was an angry woman, living in an odd place with strange people, and no indication (of course, I may have missed it) of how she ended up this way. I found myself wondering how her and the Bill Murray character were ever together - a good illustration of how much two people can change over twenty years.
I'd already seen Tilda Swinton in Thumbsucker, earlier in the festival, and she was completely different, almost unrecognisable. I know this doesn't necessarily indicate any great acting skill, but it was interesting nevertheless.
Some of you may find the ending of the film a little abrupt - I know I did! All I can say to that is: make sure you read the cast list. I had to have this pointed out to me by the more intelligent person who accompanied me to the film, and for me, it made everything a whole lot better.
3 comments:
Tilda Swinton is always brilliant. Check out 'Orlando'.
Tilda Swinton's role in this is minute. Literally, no longer than a minute or two of screen time. She's still good though.
And by the way, she isn't always brilliant - she was in The Beach, which was impossible for actors to be brilliant in. She is usually good, though, I agree with you there.
Agreed re Bill Murray ... one of my fav movies from one of those formative years of my life was "Stripes" (pre ghostbusters if i recall correctly) .. and I've since watched out for him. Ageing gracefully.
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