Karma is a real bitch. That’s something we all learn at one point in our lives. Karma can’t possibly be some sort of deity, but more of something in ourselves that, eventually, comes back to bite us in the ass. The constant affairs on our wives perhaps give us a STD, or the hits we give our child come back in the form of a crippling car crash. Never underestimate the power of karma. I never do. And Don Johnston will never, either.

Don has just broken up with his girlfriend, who urges him to get his life together and grow up. One day he receives a letter revealing to him that his son, who he’s never met, is looking for him. Jim Jarmusch’s tale of a lady killer who gets a jolt of reality facing his own mortality, is a clever and pretty interesting slice of life about a man whose life seems basically comfortable until he gets the announcement. The stand out performance in the variety of talented actors is Jeffery Wright who plays Don’s next door neighbor who thinks he has a real future as a detective.

He’s the highlight of this, and is consistently hilarious as a wannabe sleuth who states the obvious in an attempt to solve Don’s mystery. Jarmusch’s study of a bachelor who can’t resist the lure of basically any female then becomes a road trip film as he ventures into these different locales attempting to discover who it was that sent him the letter. The story is filled with many funny scenarios, the funniest of which include his visiting of an old girlfriend played by Sharon Stone whose less than discreet daughter makes her presence felt. Alex Dziena as Lolita will remain on the minds of male audiences for a long time; Don even finds himself in a sort of Nabokovian scenario as he’s—reasonably—attracted to Lolita and finds himself also allured by Stone’s character.

Each woman he meets up with has their own personality and that’s due to the evident talent of Jessica Lange, Francis Connor, Chloe Sevigny and many others, respectively. Murray’s performance is perhaps the more memorable aspect of the film as his downplayed portrayal of a Casanova is unexpected. He doesn’t truly look like one who would be so irresistible to women, and that’s why Murray’s performance is so good.

As far as Jarmusch’s latest film can be considered, it’s basically just middling. It’s never brilliant, or utterly fantastic, but really just aspires to be a mediocre affair with a pretty redundant performance by Murray. In spite of the interesting character he portrays, Murray instills the same far off loneliness he did in “Lost in Translation.” And then “Broken Flowers” becomes pretty repetitive pretty quickly. Jarmusch’s script seems to put all of its energy into the first half and then completely saps it with conflicts with his past lovers which were never as interesting as they could have been. The abrupt and confusing ending will leave many unsatisfied and frustrated, but it felt as if Jarmusch just didn’t know how to end it all, thus is felt hackneyed.

Jarmusch’s slice of life is understated, thought provoking, and clever as the talented cast make this an entertaining and interesting peek at a man who has no idea where to go with his life after a revelation. Though middling, and utterly repetitive, Murray’s performance is worth watching.

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