Broken

To borrow a line from my review of last year's heartbreaking film, The Hunt (Jagten), sometimes children lie. Sometimes they are simple, instinctive lies; sometimes they are calculated as an easy escape from a truth that may have dark consequences and sometimes lives are broken as a result.

When 11-year old Skunk (Eloise Laurence in her film debut) witnesses a swift but brutal attack in the quiet avenue where she lives, a series of violent events, both physical and emotional, ensues that has a devastating impact on three families.

The three families, each dysfunctional in their own ways, would not ordinarily have anything in common and would not be drawn to one another, but we see them confined in a small cul-de-sac like trapped, wild animals thrown into the same cage and each missing some of the essentials for an equanimous life. In a strange way, this could be a suburban take on Life of Pi with a young girl trying to make sense of a mad world. The tragedy is circumstance, but that's no excuse for the way some of the neighbours enact their lives, escalating lies and compounding mistakes.

But though all sounds bleak, Broken is occasionally beautiful, frequently touching and often funny and, again, it is all these things because it is so real. Watching Skunk and her brother, Jed (Bill Milner, Will from Son of Rambow), wrestling, clipping clothes pegs to each other and hanging out in their camp, brings back memories of childhood when the world seemed against us but there was always an escape to a bright, fantasy existence.

The humour comes not from cheesy asides or self-conscious jokes but from delightfully extraneous happenings on the periphery: the crashing descent of a car in a breakers yard, a boy dancing alone in a car park and a pair of twins with poo in a slingshot… That director Rufus Norris (another debut) has paid such care to the incidentals makes Broken a more complete film.

His choice of music is fantastically inelegant. Forget the whimsy of Rachel Portman (Chocolat) or the rousing scores of John Williams (do you really need me to tell you?), what carries Broken is close to the demo tune on a 1980s Cassio keyboard with Rolf Harris twanging along on a Jew's harp. And if that isn't sufficient to lighten the mood, as characters on the screen struggle to make sense of the dark craziness of life, along pops a song to celebrate the bizarre madness of it and we are permitted to laugh as the singer intones 'One day when I'm really old, and my hair falls out, I'll stick it back with the spoon of the marmalade that you made…' It's rare that I mention the editing but Victoria Boydell has sensitively cut a story to match the patterns of our minds. Occasionally we jump forwards by minutes as if reading an exciting novel, our eyes sprinting ahead until our brain slows us down, then seamlessly we step back to see in everything fully and in order.

Norris has cast Broken faultlessly. The star name upon which it's sold is Tim Roth as Archie, Skunk's dad, a single parent who is the calm, reasonable father in the middle of a minor battlefield. It's unfathomable, watching him here, that he isn't a bigger star. Archie is clearly a man with great pressure in an unenviable situation but he doesn't simply make the best of it, he endeavours to make it the best it can be. It is a wonderful, understated performance that I suspect few will see.

Laurence is a revelation and the emotional fullness with which she inhabits Skunk allows us to root for her and silently admonish her, because she could easily be the girl next door.

There isn't a poor performance in Broken, only characters you care for and those from whom you'd run a mile. Rory Kinnear (son of Roy) as Bob, gives us a man who is, on the face of it, the neighbor from hell with a trio of daughters to match but he's no two-dimensional villain, rather a damaged man with his own daemons he is unable to cope with. In contrast, Kasia (Zana Marjanovich), the friend who lives with Archie as a cross between friend, auntie and surrogate mother, brings a gentle, caring irreverence in the midst of the turmoil but she, too, has her 'edge.' Robert Emms, so often an invisible supporting actor, is breath-drawingly good as the mentally ill, victimized Rick who struggles to cope with the various warzones into which he is cast. He is the hate-figure of Bob and his daughters, the cause of weariness and frustration in his parents (superb turns from Dennis Lawson & Clare Burt) and, more than anything, the terrifying confusion in his mind. His character evolution is superb and our own feelings towards him are as confused as his own.

Once the credits had rolled, I sat in silence and reflected on how life runs away from us and we are subject to its whims. Sometimes we emerge the beneficiaries, sometimes the victims. Perhaps this is simple karma; perhaps it is fatalism. Or maybe everything is random or even the result of misunderstandings and the inability of mere humans to communicate their feelings openly, simply and honestly.

Broken asks the questions but leaves us to draw our own conclusions.

Sometimes 'broken' may be repaired. But not always.

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So simple and yet so complicated, as often life can be. Normal houses and plain faces on your block often conceal mini dramas. A cul de sac, to be precise, symbolic perhaps of the impasse that certain characters in "Broken" have reached.

Hats off to the director (and editor?) for the way certain sequences were handled. You would see a scene - the conclusion of certain events - and at the right moment (when you'd start wondering "when and how did this happen?"), the action would rewind itself and everything would make sense. From effect to cause...

I guess this movie is not for the "Batman" crowd. No jumping off roofs, no wild chases, no gunshots, just bleeding. The real kind that could happen to your sister or brother or parent or child. Or to your neighbour. The kind that you might read about in the newspaper the next day. Bleeding external and bleeding internal. Of the lip and of the heart.

The acting was very convincing. Not the kind that sticks in your mind forever, but that's exactly what I consider to be one of the film's main assets: the lack of exaggeration in the delivery of the lines is what makes the story plausible, real, as if though you're witnessing events unfold outside your window.

And hats off to the new kid on the block. Eloise Laurence is a natural. I'd love to have her for my daughter too! Or sister. Or neighbour. I have a feeling we'll be hearing more from her. And from director Rufus Norris. The chain must not be broken.

'Broken' is an excellent example of just how good British drama films/series can be when they are done right. The film is straight to the point and develops at a good pace with lots of different things going on between the various characters.

There is a lot of characters in this film (3 different families who are all neighbours) and we see how their lives are affected by various going ons. This film really doesn't hold back, some of the scenes and subjects will be uncomfortable for some viewers. I really didn't like the Oswald family but the story really wouldn't have worked without them.

I really liked how parts of this film where done, we would see something happen unexpectedly and then it would flashback to show the build up to it from a different perspective. The story linked together really well. It is very engaging although some parts are unrealistic.

The acting in this film was nothing short of superb from everyone. There was a lot of familiar faces but the star of the show has to be Eloise Laurence who made her acting debut in the lead role as Skunk.

It's a shame this film probably won't get the recognition it deserves due to it being relatively unheard of. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good dram film, you won't be disappointed.

8/10.

Eloise Laurence, in her motion picture debut, is really terrific as Skunk, aka Emily Cunningham, in this extremely dark British drama. Tim Roth gives his usual very solid performance as Skunk's father Archie, a lawyer who is left to raise Skunk and her brother Jed (Bill Milner) after Archie's wife has run off with an accountant. They're aided by a live-in nanny Kosia, ably portrayed by Zana Marjanovic.

Skunk is an 11 year old girl who must face numerous challenges in addition to the loss of her mother. She's a Type 1 diabetic, who must take daily injections and constantly monitor her blood sugar levels. She also has to contend with a new school and the bullying therein, a crush on her teacher Mr. Kiernan, played by the fine actor Cillian Murphy, as well as a first boyfriend Dillon (George Sargeant) and a first real kiss.

However, even more scary and potentially more dangerous are her neighbors. There's the rageful and violent neighbor Bob Oswald, believably portrayed by Rory Kinnear, who along with his three out of control daughters are causing havoc in the neighborhood. There's also the seriously mentally disturbed Rick (Robert Emms), living across the street with his doting mother and overwhelmed father.

All of these families and characters will eventually come together in brutally stark ways. The film does little to shield the viewer from very bleak and difficult scenes.

Thank goodness for the movie's powerful ending or I may just have felt the whole film was just too depressing and unflinching for me.

All in all, Eloise Laurence's riveting presence on screen was I think the true heart of the film. Most likely this film is not for everyone with its' heavy themes, but with its' very strong ending I was glad I stayed with it.

The film was directed by Rufus Norris, an accomplished stage director but making his film debut here. It was written by Mark O'Rowe (Boy A), based on the novel by Daniel Clay.

While watching this movie i was thinking about some concepts, specially the appearances and the truth behind any person, any event, any story, and also the power of sex as source of problems. These concepts have a very good case study in this British film, I want to underline "British" because I think it is important and it really gives a particular identity, those streets, accents, looks, school uniforms, habits, etc. are so heavy that it is definitely not a random feature.

What I really want to stand out is the performance of Eloise Laurence as "Skunk", she gives her character a tremendous freshness, she is very natural and convincing and above all, her face keep us under a beautiful spell. The rest of the cast is also excellent, and everything combines to give a quality film we can really enjoy despite of the drama.