OTHER TITLES: SLOMLJEN (Croatia); PECA DOS MORTAIS (THE SINS OF WEAKNESS, THE SINS OF MORTALS title in Brasil); ÌÏÉÑÁÉÁ ÍÕ×ÔÁ (Greece title SHATTERED NIGHT); Kýrgýn (Turkey)
Fan Review by Mari, November 15, 2007 (also on IMDb)
Rated R for strong drug use, violence, strong sexuality and brief nudity
I watched BROKEN last night after a long hard day at work. I figured I wouldn't have the energy to understand it, or I would be in an entirely wrong mood to enjoy it.
I'm a huge fan of Jeremy Sisto and a longtime admirer of Heather Graham. Ever since I first heard about BROKEN, I've wanted to see it. There was just something about it. There IS just something about it. I knew instinctively that I would either love it or hate it, not depending on the story, but how the story was carried out, executed, you know what I mean. If a story of this nature is carried out by a bad team of filmmakers, it could easily end up a gratuitous, offensive piece of garbage or a watered down, soapy melodrama.
I LOVED it. BROKEN is a story with a very clear message. Unfortunately, I see many critics and filmgoers have failed to get that message. There is no moralistic preaching. The filmmakers and writers were far more creative than that. Sappy TV movies of past and present like to mollycoddle viewers and talk down to us like we're children, wanting us to care about issues like drug addiction, yet giving us vapid, stereotyped characters who are dealing with addiction, all while censoring the awful effects of what "wrong" and "sin" can do to human beings. BROKEN tones nothing down. If you are disturbed by the kind of raw grit found in films like TRAINSPOTTING and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, you might consider avoiding BROKEN.
If you are familiar with their work, you know that Graham and Sisto are actors who have shied away from nothing in their careers. Both of them get far less respect and recognition for their courage, not to mention their CHOICES, than they deserve. Obviously, they are continuing to choose projects that they believe in, no matter how "small", giving 110% of their individual gifts to it, and hoping that at least a few filmgoers will have the perception to absorb the message being conveyed.
Though, as stated before, there is no preaching in BROKEN, the message being sent is clear, ageless, powerful, quite biblical in scope, comparable as well to the fables of Aesop and the ancient myths of Greece. Their names are HOPE and WILL, but they are also known at first as INNOCENCE and INSPIRATION. INNOCENCE comes to the big city to follow her lifelong dream of being a musician, HOPE-ing that her talent WILL be recognized. She crosses paths with a man who becomes her INSPIRATION, and the two fall deeply and sincerely in love.
INNOCENCE and INSPIRATION all too soon give way to DISCONTENT and SEDUCTION, as Hope finds that the path to stardom is a lot steeper than she imagined. Her beauty and talent are getting her nowhere in a city where beauty and talent seem to be a dime a dozen. At this time, Will offers Hope the only solution he knows to combat sadness and DISCONTENT: He SEDUCES her with the escape of heroin.
For a while, Hope is eager to indulge, prefering to drift off into a zone of drugged-up bliss to having to feel the effects of the rejection of her dream. It's obvious she doesn't see that Will is someone who will not help her, but rather harm her, because he has no dreams of his own, no desire for success or a productive life or anything other than to live in a drugged stupor. To see Will wanting nothing but this is a profoundly sad thing. It made me want to know more about his past, what made him feel like his life was so meaningless? What made him hate himself so much that he could care less if the next shot might kill him?
But this is Hope's story. At first I didn't like the idea that the story was focused solely on Hope while Will was one of many side (albeit the biggest one in the story) characters. But if you pay attention to the story and its purpose, you will understand. It is as though many of the characters she meets in the diner represent a dark force whose mission is to snuff out the young woman's HOPE and show her that it is only a dog eat dog world, or perhaps MAN EAT WOMAN one: The predators are the sleazy film producer, the loser druggies, the ambitious music promoter, and the ruthless owner of an "escort" service. The prey that are being devoured and destroyed are the young hot band who hope their songs will soon be huge hits, the naive yet perceptive young party-girl who knows she is being targeted, yet feels unable to resist the evil around her, and the beautiful, arrogant hooker whose sense of achievement and satisfaction are all based on a huge, sad lie. There is a prophetic presence in the diner as well, the filthy, uncombed woman who begs the waitress not to give up HOPE.
So in essence, WILL, along with Hope's customers, is a representation of her long struggle, her INNOCENCE, her INSPIRATION, her DISCONTENT and her SEDUCTION from light into darkness. Her stillborn dream, her ignored talent and beauty in a city frought with ruthless competition for fame and fortune; her WILL-ful decision to either make her dream come true or waste her life being strung out on drugs and prostituting herself, degrading her value, for the next temporary high; and finally her abrupt realization that her life does have meaning, and her life can touch the lives of others, if she doesn't squander it, no matter who she ends up being, no matter whether she is famous or anonymous, her renewed sense of strengh, purpose, and of course HOPE.
Graham and Sisto both give beautifully emotional performances, and are joined by a wonderful ensemble which includes Jake Busey, Linda Hamilton, Valerie Azlynn, Michael Goorjian, Mark Shepard, Tess Harper, Bianca Lawson, Joe Hursley, Randall Batinkoff and the amazingly pretty Jessica Stroup who stands out as the heartbreakingly young Sara.
The edgy and meloncholy music by the Brian Jonestown Massacre is fitting to the film's dark tone and the "Hanging Tree" song, performed in the film by Graham, is haunting and gorgeous.
I recommend this film highly to anyone who has the sense to watch it with eyes wide open. I feel very satisfied, yet there are elements I do not yet understand fully (the ending is a little confusing to me, with Hope passed out and Tess Harper's character dressed in the same outfit as Hope). So I will be "chewing" on this great film for a time to come. It seems the kind of story that would provoke much discussion.
I'll give it an A+.
CAST
Heather Graham as HOPE
Jeremy Sisto as WILL
Randall Batinkoff as CLIFF
Tess Harper as CLAIRE
Jake Busey as VINCE
Linda Hamilton as KAREN
Michael Goorjian as THOMAS
Valerie Azlynn as JESSICA
Joe Hursley as ROB
Bianca Lawson as NIA
Mark Sheppard as MALCOLM
and Jessica Stroup as SARA
Song: The Pregnancy Test by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, featured in the film
Back to BROKEN
Back to SISTO ACT
Email
BROKEN