DVD
REVIEW:
BROKEN
11/17/07
Complexes movies with
convoluted plots are best left to master filmmakers, but in
Broken, director Alan White took a chance and failed
miserably. Writer Jeff Lester & Drew Pillsbury re-tell the
age old story of seeking fame and fortune in LA. The opening
scene has Hope (Heather Graham) talking directly to the
camera, in an unconvincing performance, saying she’s finally
heading to LA. After this scene, the movie gets a little
weird and this is where the trouble begins. The rest of the
movie takes place at the Blue Star Café where Hope is now a
waitress. Her customers for the night are: a couple of
losers played by Jake Busey and Joe Hursley trying to score
some drugs, a sleazy record producer trying to seal a deal
with a band, A shady movie producer whose movie sounds just
like Hope’s life, a drugged out girl harassed by two guys,
Linda Hamilton as a madam trying to recruit Hope, and a
strung out old lady who is out of her mind. In between,
flashbacks are shown of Hope and her boyfriend Will (Jeremy
Sisto) and their failed relationship. Will gets Hope hooked
on heroine and Hope starts to waste her life away getting
farther away from her dream. When she finally realizes the
she needs to distance herself from Will, he is too attached.
Between cuts Will is seen driving to the Blue Star Café for
the climatic confrontation with Hope.
If there is anything decent to say about Broken is that the
performances are pretty good. While Heather Graham starts
off poorly in the opening scene, she quickly redeems herself
in the rest of the movie. Jake Busey and Joe Hursley give
great performances playing the drug seeking losers, and
Jeremy Sisto, who always delivers, gives a wonderful
performance .
The biggest problem with the movie is getting into in. At
first it’s hard to understand what’s going on, but once you
figure it out the movie going from horribly to just plain
bad. The main problem is the way the director decided to
structure the movie. I think he wanted to create a work of
art, but instead he ended up with a crazy looking Pollock.
In the end, is the whole thing a dream? Is Will real or a
metaphor for addiction?
VIDEO:
Widescreen (1.78:1)
AUDIO:
English Dolby Digital 5.1,English
Stereo 2.0
Subtitles English & Spanish.
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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Review
By Brad Peterson
brad@smartcine.com
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