Broken Flowers

While Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers appears to be a smashing critical success, Linda and I were both disappointed. I found Dead Man and Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai mesmerizing when I saw them for the first time on DVD last year, so I was really anxious to catch the latest by this director. The pace is typically slow, something that I'd appreciated in the other two movies. But close-ups of MapQuest printouts, shots of flights taking off, and Murray sleeping in hotel rooms or sitting on the couch mournfully didn't give me the same satisfaction as Johnny Depp's ponderous spiritual trek through the wilderness or Forest Whitaker's beautifully simple, humane interactions with people and pigeons. Maybe I was just too impatient that night, but I missed the depth of imagery and emotion.