CONFIRMED bachelor Don Johnston (Bill Murray) has enthusiastically embraced his singleton status for most of his life, rejecting the temptation to commit to a long line of adoring girlfriends.

As a result, Don spends great swathes of his life alone, welded to his settee, with occasional forays next door to visit neighbour Winston (Jeffrey Wright) and his family.

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After his latest lover, Sherry (Julie Delpy), dumps him, Don receives an anonymous note that tells him he has a son he never knew about. Moreover, the boy is looking for him.

With no other clues to the boy's identity, Don sets about revisiting a number of old flames - including Laura (Sharon Stone), Dora (Frances Conroy), Carmen (Jessica Lange) and Penny (Tilda Swinton) - who take great delight in raking over the coals of their failed romances.

Murray delivers another nuanced portrayal of middle-aged solitude, similar to his role in Lost In Translation. He effortlessly evokes Don's sadness and awkward social skills, in stark contrast to Stone, Lange and co who bring feistiness and energy to their ex-girlfriends.

The episodic nature of the piece, beautifully knitted together by writer-director Jim Jarmusch, brings Don full circle, back to where he began, albeit with a twinkle of hope in his eyes.

See it at Odeon