Broken Blu-Ray Review

Rating:
15
BD/DVD Release Date:
8th July 2013 (UK)
Director:
Rufus Norris
Cast:
Cillian Murphy, Robert Emms, Tim Roth, Eloise Laurence, Rory Kinnear
Buy Broken:
[Blu-ray] / [DVD]

Based on Daniel Clay's 2008 book of the same name, Broken follows 11 year old tomboy Skunk Cunningham (Eloise Laurence), her lawyer dad Archie (Tim Roth) and her brother Jed (Bill Milner) and their life in a London cul-de-sac. After Skunk witnesses a violent attack carried out by the father of the troublesome Oswald family, it sets a series of events in motion that will change life in the suburban North London close for all involved.

The first thing that struck me about the film was just how well acted it all was. It has genuine, human performances from the seasoned pros like Roth and Cillian Murphy all the way down to the kids. Eloise Laurence is astounding as Skunk. She sidesteps every precocious child actor beartrap possible and delivers a very real feeling character you relate to and care about. There are moments of real warmth and charm in the film that work beautifully and really draw you in to the drama.

Broken takes many of its cues from Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Many of the characters and family dynamics are the same. For instance, Tim Roth plays the moral Atticus character “Archie” and the white trash Ewells are now the equally scummy “Oswalds”. It does a good job of modernising it too. The real strength of the film lies in the relationships. Archie's relationship with Skunk is very believable and her interactions with Murphy's teacher Mike are genuinely touching.

What isn't so great is when the film (and presumably the book) goes off at a right angle to the source novel and all subtlety is abandoned in favour of a thick layer of melodrama. I felt that once the film got rid of Mockingbird's stabilizers, it became a much shakier prospect. It does fantastic groundwork in making you root for these characters but when it comes to the final act it opts for a batshit smattering of soap-opera level drama which spoils things somewhat. A hackneyed fantasy sequence near the end had me mourning for the deftness of touch displayed in the first half.

First time director Rufus Norris does a great job. He chops and changes between narrative threads with confidence and the result is very engaging. However, there is an overreliance on standard “Brit grit” conventions and the whole thing feels very stagey. No surprise as both Norris and screenwriter Mark O'Rowe have theatrical backgrounds. Not to sell the film short, but I have the feeling Broken would work even better on the stage.

Broken is a well-acted, well directed character piece. The goodwill it earns is only slightly marred by an overdramatic, student film level bleakness towards the end. Recommended.

★★★☆☆

Ben Browne

From Stage To Screen And Back Again (Broken Feature)

This Friday will see the release of Rufus Norris Award winning British Independent drama Broken will hit the UK Cinemas.the UK indie which boasts a strong cast of Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy as well a fantastic debut performance from Eloise Laurence in a film thats looks like it’ll deliver on the dramatics with hints of something very dark lurking under the serene face British suburbia.To celebrate the release of Broken we have a feature called From Stage To Screen (And Back Again) which sees some great directors who have started their careers on the stage went to direct and went back to the stage once again.

Rufus Norris

Rufus Norris, whose film debut Broken hits cinemas on the 8th March, trained as an actor before turning his attentions to directing. Winning the Evening Standard award for Most Promising Newcomer in 2001 led to future success in productions such as Festen and Death and the King’s Horseman, which played in the Olivier theatre. The soundtrack of Broken is composed by Electric Wave Bureau, which features Blur front-man Damon Albarn, who collaborated with Norris on his production of Doctor Dee in 2011.

Orson Welles

Before the illustrious film career began, Orson Welles directed a number of high-profile productions; these included an innovative take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1936) - which became known as Voodoo Macbeth due to setting the play in Haiti (the Three Sisters became the Three Voodoo Witch Doctors.) He went on to co-found the Mercury Theatre, regularly casting actor Joseph Cotton in productions – Welles went on to cast Cotton in his film debut, Citizen Kane (1941,) deemed to be the greatest film ever made.

Laurence Olivier

Arguably one of the most famous actors of all time, Laurence Olivier was the first artistic director of the National Theatre (the main stage is now named in his honour,) and went on to the Old Vic in 1963 where he oversaw a production of Hamlet. He directed nine productions in total, appearing in most of them, and making names out of John Gielgud, Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi and Anthony Hopkins to name a few. Previous to this, Olivierhad carved himself out as the leading purveyor of Shakespeare in film. Star and director of Hamlet (1944), Othello (1948) and Richard III (1955,) Olivier was a screen legend. In September 2007, the National Theatre marked the centenary of his birth.

Bob Fosse

Bob Fosse was a director of musical theatre, who moved to New York with the aspirations of becoming the next Fred Astaire. Choreographing several productions, including How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961,) Fosse began directing theatre with notable productions including Sweet Charity (1966) – a film version of which he directed three years later - and Chicago (1975.) Fosse won an Oscar for directing Cabaret in 1972, famously beating Francis Ford Coppola’s work on The Godfather in the process.

Mike Nichols German-born American director Mike Nichols found his way to directing stage through his comedy duo routines with director and actress Elaine May (Nichols and May,) overseeing – and winning numerous Tony awards for – Broadway productions of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple (1965) and Plaza Suite (1968.) 1966 saw his film directorial debut in the form of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and in 1968, he won an Oscar for directing The Graduate. He has remained a film and theatre director ever since, winning another Tony in 2012 for his production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

Julie Taymor

American film and theatre director Julie Taymor is most renowned for becoming the first woman to win a Best Director Tony award for her production of stage musical The Lion King (1997.) She had formally proved her talent by directing Shakespeare plays, including The Tempest and The Taming of the Shrew in 1984. She has also received acclaim for her directing career, her debut of which was Titus in 1999 (she produced a stage version in 1994,) and includes Frida (2002,) Across the Universe (2007,) a love story set to the music of The Beatles, and a screen-version of The Tempest in 2010. Her last stage production was a broadway musical version of Spider-Man in 2007, which broke records – but caused controversy when she departed the production over creative differences.

Mike Leigh

British filmmaker Mike Leigh studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art kick-starting his career in the mid-60s. He worked as assistant director at the Royal Shakespeare Company alongside director’s Peter Hall and Trevor Nunn. After directing some small-scale improvised plays, heturned his attention to playwriting for television – his most famous of which, Abigail’s Party, has been devised on-stage several times. He soon moved to theatrical ‘kitchen-sink’ filmmaking, with High Hopes (1988) and Life Is Sweet (1990.) He has directed three plays since his film career began, and regularly receives praise for every new film – the last of which was 2010’s Another Year.

Sam Mendes

Sam Mendes began theatre directing during his years at Cambridge - and by 24 had directed a version of Chekhov’s The Cherry Tree starring Judi Dench. 1990 saw Mendes appointed artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse (situated in Covent Garden,) which is now deemed a notable theatre venue. Countless talent has appeared in acclaimed productions ever since. In 1994, he staged a production of Oliver! and made his film directorial debut with 1999’s Oscar-winning American Beauty. Road to Perdition (2002) followed, and most recently, Mendes was the man responsible for directing what has become one of the most popular Bond films ever, Skyfall (2012.) In 2003, he established film, television and theatre production company Neal Street Productions, most recently responsible for the funding of BBC1’s Call the Midwife.

Danny Boyle

Upon leaving school, Danny Boyle joined the Joint Stock Theatre Company in London, before moving to the Royal Court in 1982. Five productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company later, and Boyle turned his attentions to filmmaking; 1995 saw his debut Shallow Grave, and countless other hits have followed: Trainspotting (1996,) 28 Days Later... (2002,) the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and 127 Hours (2010.) He returned to theatre in 2011, directing a version of Frankenstein for the National Theatre which was broadcast to cinemas live. He received unanimous praise recently for his artisitic directing duties on the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. His new film Trance is set for release this month.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright began his career working at his parents’ puppet theatre, and attended the Anna Scher Theatre School. He made the move to directing television and film after receiving a scholarship to make an award-winning short film for the BBC, sparking off a film career that has included Atonement (2007,) Hanna (2010) and most recently Anna Karenina (2012.) This year has seen him make his West End stage directorial debut, comedy Trelawny of the Wells at the Donmar Warehouse; it opened to positive reviews.

Broken will be released in UK Cinemas from Friday (8th March)

GFF 2013 - New UK Poster For Broken Starring Tim Roth

On 8th March Rufus Norris Award winning debut feature film Broken will be released in UK&Ireland and has been getting rave reviews  including much praise for  an outstanding performance by newcomer Eloise Laurence. Studiocanal have sent us an new UK quad poster for the film which you can check out below.

Set in North London young man Robert ‘Broken’ Buckley finds himself  at the wrong end of a brutal beating from neighbour Mr Oswald  after his daughter makes a false accusation towards Robert. As Robert struggles with what’s just happened 11year old Skunk daughter of next door neighbour Archie may have witnessed Robert  get the beaten up.

When you win best British Independent Film for your first feature it's one hell of stamp of seal of approval and a great reason to check Broken out which has a fantastic support cast of Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy, Rory Kinnear, Dennis Lawson and Robert Emms. Broken is due out in UK&Ireland 8th March however the film will be screened on 19th and 20th February at Glasgow Film Festival, support British Film!

Missed The UK trailer? Click here to watch trailer

Synopsis

From acclaimed director Rufus Norris comes BROKEN, a powerful, captivating and heartbreaking exploration of love in all its many forms: idealised, unrequited, and, ultimately, unconditional. With some light comic touches and a brilliant central performance from newcomer Eloise Laurence, this coming of age story deals with the tumultuousness of growing up in a world where the happy certainties of childhood give way to a fear-filled doubt, and where a complex, broken world fills the future.

Press Release: British Independent Film Award Winners

An impressive array of British talent turned out this evening for the 15^th Moët British Independent Film Awards. The winners were announced at the star-studded ceremony, held at Old Billingsgate which was hosted by BIFA Winning actor James Nesbitt.

Best British Independent Film was won by BROKEN with Peter Strickland picking up Best Director for BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO; Andrea Riseborough won Best Actress for SHADOW DANCER and Toby Jones won Best Actor for BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO. Olivia Colman collected her second BIFA in two years, this time for Best Supporting Actress for HYDE PARK ON HUDSON and Rory Kinnear took home Best Supporting Actor for BROKEN.

BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO won the most awards on the night, picking up four trophies for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Achievement In Production and Best Technical Achievement. THE IMPOSTER won two awards: Best British Documentary and The Douglas Hickox Award (Directorial Debut) for Bart Layton, matching the tally for BROKEN which also won two for Best British Independent Film and Best Supporting Actor. SIGHTSEERS won Best Screenplay and THE HUNT was awarded Best International Independent Film. James Floyd picked up the Most Promising Newcomer Award for his role in MY BROTHER THE DEVIL.

Joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: "It is wonderful to see so many films acknowledged by our jury which goes to prove what a strong year 2012 has been for British Independent film. We were delighted that so many of the winners were with us tonight to collect their awards and celebrate our 15th Birthday, along with a number of previous winners, patrons, and friends of BIFA. We are extremely proud that The Moët British Independent Film Awards continues to highlight the extraordinary talent that is so plentiful within British independent filmmaking today."

As previously announced, Sir Michael Gambon was awarded the coveted Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor to British film, and Jude Law the Variety Award, which recognises an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to focus the international spotlight on the UK. The Special Jury Prize went to Sandra Hebron.

Emelie De Vitis, Marketing Director for Moët & Chandon, commented:  "Moët & Chandon is delighted to celebrate BIFA's 15th anniversary, as the stature of the awards continues to grow with so many world class winners. We are thrilled that so many of the brightest stars of the British film industry supported our ‘Toast for a Cause’ initiative, helping raise thousands of pounds for their favourite charities.”

The Raindance Award was won by STRINGS. Elliot Grove, Founder of Raindance Film Festival and BIFA added: “This year’s BIFA nominations demonstrate that British filmmakers are now an international force to be reckoned with.”

The Moët British Independent Film Awards are proud to announce the following winners for 2012 (highlighted below in red): 

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

Sponsored by Moët & Chandon

Berberian Sound Studio

Broken

Sightseers

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Imposter

BEST DIRECTOR

Sponsored by AllCity & Intermission

Bart Layton – The Imposter

Ben Wheatley – Sightseers

John Madden – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Peter Strickland – Berberian Sound Studio

Rufus Norris – Broken

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]

Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios

Bart Layton – The Imposter

Ben Drew – Ill Manors

Rowan Athale – Wasteland

Rufus Norris – Broken

Sally El Hosaini – My Brother the Devil

BEST SCREENPLAY

Sponsored by BBC Films

Abi Morgan – The Iron Lady

Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Amy Jump – Sightseers

Mark O'Rowe – Broken

Paul Andrew Williams – Song for Marion

Peter Strickland – Berberian Sound Studio

BEST ACTRESS

Sponsored by M.A.C

Alice Lowe (Tina) – Sightseers

Andrea Riseborough (Colette McVeigh) – Shadow Dancer

Elle Fanning (Ginger) – Ginger & Rosa

Judi Dench (Evelyn Greenslade) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed (Aaron) – Ill Manors

Steve Oram (Chris) – Sightseers

Terence Stamp (Arthur) – Song for Marion

Tim Roth (Archie) – Broken

Toby Jones (Gilderoy) – Berberian Sound Studio

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Alice Englert (Rosa) – Ginger & Rosa

Eileen Davies (Carol) – Sightseers

Maggie Smith (Muriel Donnelly) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Olivia Colman (Queen Elizabeth) – Hyde Park on Hudson

Vanessa Redgrave (Marion) – Song for Marion

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sponsored by Sanderson & St Martins Lane

Billy Connolly (Wilf) – Quartet

Cillian Murphy (Mike Kiernan) – Broken

Domhnall Gleeson (Connor) – Shadow Dancer

Rory Kinnear (Bob Oswald) – Broken

Tom Wilkinson (Graham Dashwood) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

Sponsored by Studiocanal

Elliott Tittensor (Tits) – Spike Island

Eloise Laurence (Skunk) – Broken

James Floyd (Rashid) – My Brother the Devil

Paul Brannigan (Robbie) – The Angels' Share

Zawe Ashton (Joyce Vincent) – Dreams of a Life

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION

Sponsored by Company3

Berberian Sound Studio

Ill Manors

Sightseers

The Imposter

The Sweeney

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Sponsored by LightBrigade Media

Nic Knowland BSC– Cinematography – Berberian Sound Studio

Joakim Sundström, Stevie Haywood AMPS IPS– Sound Design – Berberian Sound Studio

Electric Wave Bureau – Music – Broken

Robbie Ryan – Cinematography – Ginger & Rosa

Andrew Hulme – Editing – The Imposter

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Dreams of a Life

London: The Modern Babylon

Marley

Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir

The Imposter

BEST BRITISH SHORT

Supported by the BFI

Friday

Junk

Skyborn

Swimmer

Volume

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM

Amour

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Rust and Bone

Searching For Sugar Man

The Hunt

THE RAINDANCE AWARD

Frank

Strings

Love Tomorrow

City Slacker

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film)

Sir Michael Gambon

THE VARIETY AWARD

Jude Law

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

Sandra Hebron

Watch The UK Trailer For BIFA Nominated Broken Starring Tim Roth

When you receive 9 nominations from the British Independent Film Awards for your debut feature, Rufus Norris' Broken is certainly a film we should take notice off especially  at the early festival preview to go by. Tonight we have a new trailer for the UK indie which boasts a strong cast of Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy a film looks like it'll deliver on the dramatics with hints of something very dark lurking under the serene  face British suburbia.

Broken set in North London when young man Robert 'Broken' Buckley is at the wrong end of a brutal beating from neighbour Mr Oswald whose daughter makes a false accusation. As Robert struggles with what's just happened to him next door neighbour Archie (Roth), a Lawyer whose 11year old daughter Skunk may have witnessed Robert her neighbour get the beating.

Broken looks an intense little character drama instead of the usual generic gritty London style drama we do seem to see unfortunately more off. Eloise Laurence  who plays Skunk, as well as the film's narrator delivers a really good debut performance and in the trailer it does suggest her own home things might not be as hunky dory as they seem. Not saying this trailer is fantastic nor poor but what it is, it's effective hinting on some dark truths maybe lurking under the carpet but never revealing to much to spoil things.

Broken is set for a Spring 2013 UK Release and also stars  Rory Kinnear, Robert Emms.