The Brøken (2008)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Sean Ellis

Writer:

Sean Ellis (writer)

Release Date:

15 November 2008 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Face your fears.

Plot:

In London, the radiologist Gina McVey organizes a surprise birthday party to her father John McVey with her boyfriend Stefan Chambers...

Plot Keywords:

Mystery Woman | Car Accident | Radiologist | Nightmare | Broken Mirror

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Broken (France) (International: English title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:PG-12 | USA:R | France:U (with warning) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Bayswater, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont

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 a Norwegian word meaning "the fraction".

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When talking about the case of Situs Inversus, she says "It's not uncommon... but it is rare."

Quotes:

[Kate and Gina are kneeling down to sweep up the large mirror that suddenly broke during dinner while the men of the family stand by and watch them]
Kate Coleman: [Quietly to Gina] I guess that's seven years back luck then.
Gina McVey: [mischievously whispering] I thought it was seven years bad sex.
Kate Coleman: No, I've already had that.
Daniel McVey: Oi, I heard that.
Kate Coleman: [smiling up at her husband] Baby, that was before I met you.
[John, Gina and Kate's father, is apparently oblivious to the entire by-play that's occurred and preoccupied by the broken mirror]
John McVey: Do you think we can fix it?

Lena is cute as hell... that about sums it up

I rate it average, mostly because of the dark atmosphere and filming style. The rest of it was mostly really boring. Lena Headey is cute, British accent and all, Richard Jenkins is lovely as ever, even in a minor role as (of course) the dad, but the rest of the film simply makes no sense.

Back to the feel of the movie, the director used almost no soundtrack and instead low eerie sounds to produce feelings of uneasiness. He did it well, but for the entire length of the film, until I became annoyed with it. I don't want to spoil it by telling you what the movie is about, either; enough to say that if you are looking for a story that has some sort of meaning and conclusion, you picked the wrong film.

Bottom line: I fell asleep watching it. Granted, it was 3 o'clock.