Broken (Rufus Norris, 2012): UK

Reviewed by Jillian P. Halverstadt. Viewed at the Metro 4 Theatre, Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Every once in awhile I find a film that I truly cannot, no matter how hard I try, remove myself from emotionally.  Throughout the plot of Broken I caught myself mindlessly grinning, growing angry, and almost crying along with the characters in this film.  Cillian Murphy and Tim Roth are two of the bigger names in this low budget independent drama.

Based on the novel by author Daniel Clay and adapted into a screenplay by Mark O’Rowe, this drama takes place in the suburbs of North London in a cul de sac inhabited by the three families whose lives become intertwined forever by events much stronger than just being neighbors.  It all begins when Skunk (Eloise Laurence) is walking back home from school and witnesses Mr. Oswald (Rory Kinnear), the widowed father of three girls, brutally beat up Rick Buckley (Robert Emms).  The three families lives are not the same after this event and the plot ultimately leads up to a life changing climax that will stun the audience.  Strung with themes of innocence, parenting, love, responsibility, life, and death there are many different , strong messages that hide beneath each scenes surface.

Broken had such a unique style to it that I found it hard to really put my observations of its mis-en-scene into actual words.  There were scenes that did not even need words but instead focused on the actors expressions and with the help of lighting and non-diegetic sound were able to relay some strong messages. For example, the opening scene is of a baby in an incubator with her father touching her head then jump cuts into editor Victoria Boydell’s montage of Skunk, at her current preteen age, enjoying life with her family and intertwined with Archie’s dream of Skunk grown up as a young woman.  The cuts continue to be as artistic and daring but maybe not as brief as the beginning segment.  The cast speaks for itself and the knew faces hold their own as well. As I mentioned above, many scenes did not need words because of the strong and powerful emotions being conveyed by the actors.  It was also refreshing to see the lead character, Skunk, be a strong young girl who is comfortable in her own skin and still has her innocent optimism with all of the chaotic life changes going on around her.  This seems to have been a role made for Eloise Laurence as she truly personified Skunk in a way that if it were any other actress I don’t think this character would’ve had the same effect on me.

If you get the chance to see this work of art, take it.  Not only has this masterpiece been nominated for a total of eleven awards thus far but it has also won six different awards including Best Supporting Actor (Rory Kinnear) and Best British Independent Film among many others from Giffoni Film Festival, Stockholm Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival, London Film Festival, European Film Awards, and Camerimage.  Obviously I am not the only one who has recognized Broken, and its entire cast and crew, to be one of the best independent films out today.