The Broken (2008)

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 ... See full summary »

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 | murder of a nude woman | nudity | radiologist | 

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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

As Gina walks past the wrecked cars in the wrecking yard, she passes the same car (J667 YWY) twice, only a few seconds apart, without changing direction.

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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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Soundtracks

Are You Drunk Enough?
Written by Martin Phipps

User Reviews

Good stuff

I would classify this movie as a horror only because of a certain gory bathroom scene. Otherwise, it is rather a psychological thriller topped with a great amount of fantasy. I extremely loved the concept of the creepy body invaders as well as the mysteriously breaking mirrors that just added up to the eerie atmosphere.

Occasionally, I felt the movie to be a wee bit repetitive, showing the accident from various angles over and over again and the story was also quite easy to puzzle out after a while. However, these factors do not make the movie less enjoyable. Also, many complained about the slow pace and the lack of "action" but honestly, I liked the fact that the film wasn't filled up with unnecessary carnage and slaughter and that thanks to the slow flowing of the movie I had time to contemplate on what was going on instead of getting ready-made answers, even though towards the end everything became pretty obvious, if one payed close attention.

All in all, it was a good suspense movie and I wouldn't mind watching it again.