A Broken Life (2008)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Neil Coombs

Writers:

Neil Coombs (writer)
Grace Kosaka (writer)

Release Date:

23 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Max plans to fix what is broken with a single bullet...if only it were that simple.

Plot:

Tortured by his own mediocrity, Max decides to commit suicide and recruits his only friend Bud, a struggling filmmaker...

Cast

Tom Sizemore	...	Max
Corey Sevier	...	Bud
Grace Kosaka	...	Melinda
Ving Rhames	...	Vet
Saul Rubinek	...	Boss
Arcadiy Golubovich	...	Sasha
Cynthia Dale	...	Carla
Kristen Holden-Ried	...	Mikhail
Danya Nearon	...	Gang Leader
Faye Ly	...	Jade
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nathan Carter	...	Student
Cosette Derome	...	Catherine
Joanna Jang	...	Prostitute
Stacey LaBerge	...	Woman #1
Carinne Leduc	...	French tourist
Marty Moreau	...	Cab Driver
Laurel Morgan	...	Carla's Assistant
Ipsita Paul	...	Waitress
Bonnie Qian	...	Prostitute
Jillian Rees-Brown	...	Woman #3
Austin Strugnell	...	Drug Dealer
Edane Tobias	...	Prostitute
Lyne Tremblay	...	Woman #2

Runtime:

USA:97 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15

Company:

Caged Angel Films

Quotes:

Carla: Good luck with the suicide Max. Let me know how it turns out.

Movie Connections:

References Chronique d'un été (Paris 1960) (1961)

Tom to the Max

I saw 'A Broken Life' at a test screening in Toronto and overall I enjoyed it very much. The premise of a guy wanting to videotape his own suicide sounds pretty bleak but in fact, there's a lot of humor in the film and some pretty touching moments between Max and his filmmaker sidekick Bud. It was particularly interesting to see Tom Sizemore deliver a strong performance in a leading role and a real departure from what I've seen him in before. Some of the best moments are between Tom and the Vet played by Ving Rhames. There's also a great scene with Saul Rubinek. Following on from that thought, my major criticism is that the film occasionally feels like a series of vignettes but overall it's still a great ride.