The Broken (2008)

After seeing herself drive down the street, Radiologist Gina McVey unravels a mystery centered around a broken mirror.

Director:

Sean Ellis

Writer:

Sean Ellis

Stars:

Lena Headey, Ulrich Thomsen, Melvil Poupaud

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lena Headey	...	Gina McVey
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Dr. Robert Zachman
Melvil Poupaud	...	Stefan Chambers
Michelle Duncan	...	Kate Coleman
Asier Newman	...	Daniel McVey
Richard Jenkins	...	John McVey
Daren Elliott Holmes	...	Simon the Garage Manager
Howard Ward	...	Jim
Damian O'Hare	...	Anthony
Dennis Banks	...	Doorman
In-Sook Chappell	...	Crash Nurse
Peta Longstaff	...	A&E Team
Ziad Alyan	...	A&E Team
Lucy Bingham	...	A&E Team
Marie Flood	...	A&E Team

Storyline

In London, the radiologist Gina McVey organizes a surprise birthday party to her father John McVey with her boyfriend Stefan Chambers, her brother Daniel McVey and his girlfriend Kate Coleman. On the next day, she sees herself driving a car on the street and she follows the woman to her apartment, where she finds a picture of her father and her. While driving back, she has a car crash and loses parts of her memory; further, she believes Stefan is another man. Gina decides to investigate what is happening and unravels a dark reality.

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Plot Keywords:

car crash | broken mirror | doppelganger | murder of a nude woman | nudity | 

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Taglines:

Face your fears.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, brief sexuality/nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Gaumont [France]

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 November 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Buro-Kun

Filming Locations:

Bayswater, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Left Turn Films, Gaumont International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The inventive spelling of the title reads somewhat silly in Norwegian and Danish since the Ø in broken is a letter in the alphabet in these languages and sounds like the "u" in "burden". In addition "brøken" is the Norwegian and Danish word meaning "the fraction".

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Goofs

Although set in London all the telephones (including old dial phones) ring in the American style.

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Quotes

[Dr. Zachman is questioning Gina about her boyfriend, Stephan]
Dr. Robert Zachman: And you live together?
[Gina slightly shakes her head as if she's disturbed and unsettled by the question]
Dr. Robert Zachman: What are you holding back, Gina? Tell me what's wrong.
Gina McVey: I don't think Stephan is my boyfriend.
Dr. Robert Zachman: Well, we all have different relationships until we find the one.
Gina McVey: No, he looks like him, but he's not him.
Dr. Robert Zachman: Right. When did you first notice this change? After the accident? Do you think then, that maybe he really is Stephan and that ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

If the music played during the first half of the closing credits sounds a bit off, that's because it's being played backwards.

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Alternate Versions

Lionsgate released the DVD in North American with a cropped 1.78:1 ratio. This means approx 24 percent of the original composition is missing. The DVD release in European was in its original cinematic ratio of 2.35:1. Same cropping goes for the Scandinavian DVD and Blu-ray releases by Atlantic Film.

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Soundtracks

At Last
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Performed by Etta James
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

Mediocre

But not really bad. The main thing/problem about this movie is, that you have seen it before. And much better (most of the times). Don't get me wrong, it begins strong and even has a few shocking/shivering scenes towards the end, but most won't even bother paying attention to those scenes.

Although the actors try really hard, they can't compensate for some script/logic flaws, that almost every other horror/thriller movie like this has. You could name-check the movies ripped off (aka paying tribute to) here, but that will only as a movie knowledge game between you and your friends. Predictable, but still decent, you might have better things to do with your time ...