Broken (2012)

The story of a young girl in North London whose life changes after witnessing a violent attack.

Director:

Rufus Norris

Writers:

Daniel Clay (based on a novel by), Mark O'Rowe (screenplay)

Stars:

Charlie Booty, Lily James, Tim Roth

8 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlie Booty	...	Baby Skunk
Lily James	...	Older Skunk
Tim Roth	...	Archie
Eloise Laurence	...	Skunk
Lukas Fernandes-Pendse	...	Harry Barlow
Michael Fernandes-Pendse	...	Henry Barlow
Robert Emms	...	Rick Buckley
Rory Kinnear	...	Bob Oswald
Faye Daveney	...	Saskia
Martha Bryant	...	Sunrise
Clare Burt	...	Mrs. Buckley
Denis Lawson	...	Mr. Buckley
Paul Thornley	...	Policeman 1
David Webber	...	Policeman 2
Bill Milner	...	Jed

Storyline

The story of a young girl in North London whose life changes after witnessing a violent attack.

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Plot Keywords:

pre teen | fear of commitment | puppy love | dysfunctional family | au pair | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

Broken - Una vita spezzata

Filming Locations:

Elmstead Close, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Bill Kenwright Films, Cuba Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lead Eloise Laurence sings the song in the beginning and in the end herself.

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Quotes

Skunk: What would you do if I died, Dad?
Archie: I can't even answer that question.
Skunk: Would you cry?
Archie: Uh-huh.

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Connections

References One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

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Soundtracks

When I'm Really Old
Written by Written by Damon Albarn (as Albarn) and Rufus Norris (as Norris)
Performed by Electric Wave Bureau
Produced by Electric Wave Bureau
Vocals by Eloise Laurence

User Reviews

A little gem amongst the usual dross. Go see it.

The three families this story entwines are Broken in different ways, all live at the end of a cul-de-sac, a nearby scrapyard features in many shots where the crushing, mangling and pounding of cars in many ways reflects their lives. The central character is the insulin dependant twelve Year old 'skunk' played by Eloise Laurence. She lives with her father Archie, (the ever reliable Tim Roth) older brother Jed and their live in housekeeper Kasia.

Rory Kinnear is Bob the separated father of three near feral girls who run riot both at school and at home. When Bob finds a condom that one of the girls has been innocently playing with he jumps to the wrong conclusion. Which culminates in him giving a beating to Rick the backward son of Mr and Mrs Buckley. This is witnessed by Skunk and kickstarts an ultimately fatal chain of events. Running parallel with the story of these three families there is the on off relationship between housekeeper Kasia and schoolteacher Mike (Cillian Murphy). Plus the arrival of a traveller child Dillon who befriends Skunk.

If you enjoy Brit flicks in the mould of Mike Leigh or Shane Meadows this is a must see. Sparking on themes of love, loss, friendship and violence, this is a confident and unfussy directorial debut by Rufus Norris comfortably adapting to celluloid from the theatre. The way the story and characters interweave never feels contrived. The child actors are superb especially Martha Bryant as the youngest of the feral siblings who is outstanding. As is Laurence as Skunk who also sings on a couple of the Damon Albarn songs on the soundtrack.

The strange but ever reliable sign of a good movie is that amongst the dross at my local Cineworld this is only on show for one week (go figure). Cineworld get your ten screen act together please and support great British movies of this ilk. Films as good as this are few and far between throughout the year so get on the bus; to hell with the expense treat yourself to a taxi but get to the big screen and watch this little gem.