Broken (2012 film)

Broken is a 2012 British coming-of-age drama film directed by Rufus Norris starring Eloise Laurence and Tim Roth. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2012. It is based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Daniel Clay, which was partly inspired by Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird.[2]

Broken
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRufus Norris
Screenplay byMark O'Rowe
Based onBroken
by Daniel Clay
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRob Hardy
Edited byVictoria Boydell
Music byElectric Wave Bureau
BBC Films
BFI
Lipsync Productions
Bill Kenwright Films
Cuba Pictures
Distributed byStudioCanal[1]
Release dates
  • 17 May 2012 (2012-05-17) (Cannes)
  • 8 March 2013 (2013-03-08) (United Kingdom)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Eleven-year-old diabetic Emily 'Skunk' Cunningham lives with her solicitor father Archie, her elder brother Jed, and au pair Kasia on a cul-de-sac in a British suburb. One of her few friends is Rick, a slightly simple young man living with his parents in a nearby house.

Skunk is shocked when Rick gets beaten up by single-father Mr. Oswald, another neighbour: one of three of his daughters (Saskia, Susan, and Sunrise) has falsely accused Rick of rape. He is released when she is proven a liar, but he closes himself off. From then on Skunk's life goes downhill.

Kasia splits up with her boyfriend Mike, who is also Skunk's favourite teacher. Rick is put into a mental ward as he isolates himself more and more. Archie and Kasia are beginning a relationship, a shock to both Mike and Skunk. Oswald's daughters start bullying Skunk when the new term starts. Her first boyfriend suddenly has to move away, and does not tell her until the day before he leaves.

One of Oswald's daughters, Susan, gets pregnant by one of her many sexual partners, panics, and falsely accuses Mike. Oswald barges into Skunk's classroom and beats Mike. While Oswald is in jail, Archie provides legal services to Mike, and the three daughters throw a drunken party. Susan miscarries at a house party, then dies, leading to Oswald's release.

Skunk secretly visits Rick when he has his first weekend at home. When she enters the house, she finds that Rick has accidentally broken his mother's neck, pushing her down the stairs, then panicked and knocked out his father. He won't let Skunk leave and does not realise Skunk's diabetes takes her into a hypoglycemic coma. Oswald finds Skunk, and a dead Rick (suicide), and gets her to hospital.

In a dream sequence, Skunk bids farewell to people from her childhood, including the recently dead, then sees her grown self, holding her baby. She wakes up in the hospital, with her father at her side.

Cast

Reception

Accolades

Broken premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2012. It won Grand Prix of Odesa International Film Festival in 2012.[3] The film received the Golden Eye Award for best international film on the Zurich Film Festival. It also won The British Independent Film Awards 2012 for Best British Independent Film.[4]

Critical reception

The film received mixed to positive reviews by critics. It holds a 62% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 55 reviews, with a rating average of 6.1 out of 10.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Broken (2012)". BBFC. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  2. "Daniel Clay". Junsui Films. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  3. "Winners of Odesa International Film Festival 2012", Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Masters, Tim (10 December 2012). "Broken wins top prize at British Independent Film Awards". BBC News.
  5. "Broken". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
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