Broken is a moody, surreal drama that calls up a host of films from Panic in Needle Park and Requiem for a Dream to The Petrified Forest and the recent Waitress (though, trust me, without an ounce of that movie's sunny glow). So, while originality isn't a huge priority here, director Alan White (Risk) and writer Drew Pillsbury have managed to create an involving, intimate world and an effective storytelling structure that make the movie more watchable than it first might sound. Anchored by strong acting from Heather Graham and Jeremy Sisto as a pair of L.A. castoffs who become hooked on each other—as well as on heroin—it's a film that may leave you scratching your head a bit, but is otherwise engrossing and well-shot. Cleveland transplant Hope (Graham) is an aspiring singer-songwriter working the graveyard shift at a 24-hour diner. On a night that may be her last (not uncoincidentally, it's November 1—The Day of the Dead), Hope flashes back on her co-dependent relationship with an intense addict named Will (Sisto), as she slings hash for an eclectic array of customers.
Here's the couple's back-story: Hope, lonely and new to Los Angeles, hooks up with Will after he sweet-talks her at the beach and, voila, they're a match made in purgatory. Will (as in, "where there's a way") encourages Hope's musical career, as well as her descent into smack—but only as a way to ease the pain as success eludes her. Hope knows drugs are bad from the get-go and truly wants to avoid becoming, as she puts it, a "junkie loser," but gets lost in the shuffle nonetheless. When Will hits bottom and turns violent, Hope splits for good, a decision that Will can't abide.
As Hope relives the ill-fated affair in her head, Will drives through the night to reconcile things with her—for better or for worse. Meanwhile, one by one, an intriguing mix of folks show up at the greasy spoon and the dimensions of Hope's life all intersect through their disparate voices. These night owls include: two drug buds (Jake Busey, Chad Cunningham) waiting for their dealer; an upscale madam (Linda Hamilton) who offers Hope a job; a promising singer (Valerie Azlynn and her charged-up agent (Mark Sheppard); a trio of stoned club-goers, one of whom (Jessica Stroup) tries seducing Hope into some girl-on-girl action; an aggressive movie producer (Randall Batinkoff) convinced Hope would make an ideal star for his new film called, yes, Broken; and a grimy bag lady (Tess Harper) who somehow knows more about Hope than she should. There's also the diner's kindly chef Thomas (Michael Goorjian), who Hope probably should've been dating. They all figure in to the climax when a crazed Will finally arrives to reclaim his estranged lover, with familiar, if not entirely predictable results.
The movie is grim and sometimes heartbreaking, but greatly bolstered by Graham and Sisto's fine work. Graham, doe-eyed and beautiful as ever, shows new reserves of strength and depth and more than makes up for her dizzy performance earlier this year in the dreadful Gray Matters. Sisto, who's no stranger to playing these needy nutjobs (most notably Six Feet Under's Billy Chenoweth and the abusive Earl in Waitress), is both chilling and achingly sad, particularly during the film's final moments.
Broken goes a bit heavy on the symbolism (naming the leads Hope and Will, for starters) and tries to stir up sympathy for characters who may not deserve it, but as cautionary tales go, it's worth a look.
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