Redeems Bill Murray's Career

Rating: Null/10 (2 October 2003)

(Warning: spoilers!) What this movie does do for me is redeem the entire career of Bill Murray, a comedian I have never liked very much. I read somewhere that Murray had to be talked into doing this movie. I kind of wonder if he wasn't afraid he wasn't up to the drama required. We can be glad he finally accepted the project because he nails the performance so perfectly that one really can't imagine the film with anyone else in the role. Oh, I suppose Mel Gibson or Harrison Ford or Robert DeNiro could have read the lines, but what this film needed was someone who could be both a sad sack and a clown. And let's not forget the extraordinary performance turned in by Scarlett Johansson (The Horse Whisperer, Ghost World). At 18 (playing 23), she has that quality Claire Danes has that makes you ask, "How can someone so plain be so gorgeous?" Well, the answer is that, like Danes, her plainness is the plainness of purity and simplicity, not the plainness of ugliness and mediocrity. And like Danes at her best (My So-Called Life, Romeo + Juliet), she can break your heart. Both of them are marooned in Tokyo, Murray to do a Suntory Whisky commercial and Johansson having invited herself to accompany her photographer husband on an assignment. We quickly catch on that Murray is unhappy with being in Tokyo and with his marriage and that Johansson is unhappy with being left alone by her husband on this trip and with her marriage in general. They meet in the hotel bar, where a mediocre lounge singer belts out the most ridiculously inappropriate tunes (example: Scarborough Fair). Murray's talent for quips amuses Johansson, who then invites him to accompany her on a visit to some of her Japanese friends. Murray begins to let his hair down, which endears him even more to Johansson. What is so fabulous about this movie is that the attraction never becomes even vaguely sexual, and that at all times they both treat each other with respect. There is none of the contempt of the young for elders, and none of the condescension of elders for the young. She is much too bright to dismiss (philosophy major at an Ivy League school) and Murray has way too many miles under his belt to BS her (he plays a fading action star with a wife of many years and children who he loves). Does he love his wife? We are never really sure. It seems they tolerate each other. One thing we are sure of, though, is that he will stay with his wife. There are several heartfelt talks between Murray and Johansson, where Murray is not preaching to Johansson, but merely answering questions she asks. There is a moment where, after listening to her talk about her life and her doubts he tells her, "You'll be okay" (meaning "You'll work it all out") which is quite touching. It was a moment when she essentially needed him to speak with the voice of a parent, and he did. There is even a scene where they are lying on his bed watching television. Her toes are touching his thigh and you see his hand move over and hold her feet. A gesture of affection, not sex. When Murray stupidly and indiscreetly spends the night (and we assume, has sex) with the lounge singer, and is then discovered by Johansson, a truth is revealed: she has on some level fallen in love with him, because her pain on making the discovery is palpable. But then, she forgives him, perhaps because it helps her see that her inclinations had started to go in a disastrous direction, This movie reminds us that romance has many forms, and that there is even some romance to be found a deep in friendship. As the movie ends, they say a perfunctory good-bye in the lobby of their hotel. Perfunctory, because so many were people looking on. A few moments later, as Murray is taking a taxi to the airport, he spots her walking down a crowded side street. He stops the taxi and chases after her. I half expected it not to be her, but it is. They now exchange a much more heart-felt and lingering embrace and he says something in her ear. We hear his voice, but it is not loud enough to understand. I've seen the movie twice now, and I listened much more closely the second time, and I now think we are not intended to understand what he says. It is a moment that belongs to them, not us. Did he ask her to return next year? Did he say a final good-bye? Did he offer to leave his wife for her? We will never know. This movie is also an homage on Japan in general and Tokyo in particular. I can't stress how visually beautiful this movie is from the opening shot of Johansson's panty-clad ass as she lay in bed to Las Vegas-like neon-lit street scenes of downtown Tokyo, to a serene Buddhist temple. There is even a golf course scene with Mt. Fuji in the background, which is so gorgeous you might wish to eat it. This is more than just a good movie, it's a great movie. Just as one can't conceive this movie without Bill Murray, one also can't imagine it directed by a male. It was written and directed by Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides). As you may know or suspect, she is the daughter of the great director, Francis Ford Coppola. He has made some major movies himself, but none of them as fine as this one. As the father of a daughter, this fact pleases me no end. Girls need to know that there are few things they can't do as well as (or better than) a man if they are but given a chance.