Really fantastic film and probably one of Bill Murray’s best performances. He plays an aging single well-off playboy aptly named Don Johnston who receives an anonymous letter from an old flame that he has a son who is possibly looking for him. After much prodding from his amateur detective neighbor he goes on a cross-country tour to identify who sent the letter. It’s a simple plot but Jarmusch has a unique style that works very well here. We have recurring shots that occur over and over (Johnston putting the same CD in the car’s stereo for example), the screen fades to black repeatedly on seemingly random times, the color pink plays an important role (or maybe not), and so on. The music also with the same note plays over and over. It should be annoying I would think but it is not. I found myself waiting for it to start again.

I loved the film and the journey that Johnston goes on. I loved all the other characters as well from his likable detective neighbor to the various women he visits and their various reactions. Murray plays Johnston stoically with long little outward emotion. Some might say he does not change much but I think that is not the case. The character we leave at the end of the film is a different man that the one who opened it while being dumped by his girlfriend. It’s a movie that balances perfectly being an artsy drama while at the same time capturing my attention and getting me invested in what is going on.