Broken English (2007)
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 73
Fresh: 47 | Rotten: 26
Though Broken English eventually settles into basic rom-com territory, it's pleasant and good-natured, and Parker Posey is spellbinding throughout the movie.
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 9
Though Broken English eventually settles into basic rom-com territory, it's pleasant and good-natured, and Parker Posey is spellbinding throughout the movie.
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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 23,567
Movie Info
A single thirtysomething whose friends all seem to be romantically involved, happily married, or with child meets an eccentric Frenchman who shows her just what an amazing place the world can truly be in director Zoe Cassavetes' entry into the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. As if it wasn't depressing enough to be 35 and still single, Nora (Parker Posey) is constantly reminded by her loving but tactless mother (Gena Rowlands) just how unlucky she has been in love. Though Nora longs to enter into a
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Cast
-
Parker Posey
Nora Wilder -
Melvil Poupaud
Julien -
Drea de Matteo
Audrey Andrews -
Gena Rowlands
Vivien Wilder-Mann -
Justin Theroux
Nick Gable -
Peter Bogdanovich
Irving Mann -
Tim Guinee
Mark Andrews -
James McCaffrey
Perry -
Josh Hamilton
Charlie Ross -
Bernadette Lafont
Madame Grenelle -
Michael Panes
Glen -
Dana Ivey
Elinor Gregory -
Roy Thinnes
Peter Andrews -
Russell Steinberg
Carl -
Bill Wise
William Gregory -
Santo Fazio
Bobbi -
Caitlin Keats
Jennifer Ross -
Jean-Paul Scarpitta
Jean Paul Clement
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All Critics (77) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (47) | Rotten (26) | DVD (5)
How Posey's neurotic, self-destructive heroine finds her way to healing is the core of this generous film, whose moral is that happiness can't begin unless you're open to its possibility.
Top CriticA likable but wan romance.
Filmmaking is a family affair for the Cassavetes, and Zoe inherits the unpretentious, performance-driven style from her father, John, while delivering a love story that's accessible enough for mainstream audiences, a trick learned from her brother Nick.
Cassavetes supplies no easy answers or easy laughs, forgoing romantic-comedy beats in respect for Nora's desperation. Call this confection a romantic-dramedy with humor on wry.
Broken English establishes a sympathetic character, gets Parker Posey to make her real, and then grinds her in the gears of a plot we cannot believe.
A promising first film with moments exceeding that promise.
Broken English surprised me all around: I didn't expect to be particularly impressed with it, and instead it turns out to be not only one of my favorite films I've see this year, but it will probably earn a spot in the all-time annals for me.
Posey's admirers will experience a sensual intoxication that fans always experience when their film goddesses are at their very best.
This isn't the best independent film we've seen starring Miss Posey, but she is the reason this one works.
a tired retread of Sex and the City, with all the same preoccupations and issues but with none of the fun
Edgy girl-meets-boy indie for older teens and up.
When Nora decides to take yet another risk against her better judgment, the film leaves to you to judge it as quixotic, vexing, or fitting.
You might be a little surprised or at least amused when the caustic, tired, joyous, frantic roller coaster stops.
Ultimately, the only wisdom you leave with is the implausibly wise pocket philosophy gleaned from romantic strangers on the streets of an idealized France.
...neither the story nor the well-acted characters quite engage our interest or sympathy.
...eventually jumps the shark by failing to consider a major character's professional competence
Parker Posey is game in 'Broken English,' although the limited conception of her giggly insecure Nora Wilder is too thin for ninety-six minutes.
Posey gives a committed performance, and Justin Theroux is good as an overindulged movie star. But almost nothing that's said or done here is convincing. And the energy is set at near-coma level.
Zoe Cassavetes' new film Broken English is a delight, and as a debut film shows that we can expect good things from her.
It's pretty clear where this is going from the first frame, though Posey's performance does keep you interested.
[Cassavetes] treats cliches as fodder for comedy and nuances as the mainstays of a deeper, more beguiling sexual humor. What's engaging about this movie is that all the conventional trysts become low-key nightmare farce.
Audience Reviews for Broken English
Super Reviewer
It is in fact very romantic, in a pretty realistic way. And it is also fairly ammusing in it's painfully truthful accurate portrayal of "single life after 30". Which (I believe) tends to be more of a concern for women then it is for men.
I have to say Parker Possey does an amazing job here and really gets to show her acting chops. And Drea de Matteo is perfect as her best friend. Very impressive work from both of them.
So if you are in the mood for a really good (in not a bit predictable) "romantic comedy"...this is a good choice.
Super Reviewer
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Movie: ID: 528343842 Title: Broken English Release Date: 2007-06-22 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
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This is a spoiler review because the biggest problems with this film are in the third act.
Parker Posey plays Nora Wilder, who is much like the lead in most romantic comedies or romantic dramas. She hates her job and finds nothing but jerks and weirdos in the dating world. She even has the best friend who doesn't seem to have a life of her own, which is almost a cliche in this genre. But the film's strength is its strategic defying of romance cliches. In the third act the best friend, whose troubled marriage until now only served as a backdrop for her scenes with Nora, breaks down in the bathroom, and we quickly realize that she cheated on her husband. Likewise, Nora quits her job, and normally, she would quickly find her calling a la 500 Days of Summer, but instead her desperate search for love irrationally carries her to Paris.
The film's problem occurs when she finally meets the object of her affection on the way to the airport. He basically drags her out of the train, and the film ends with her willingness to miss the flight back home for him.
I understand that the film is trying to problematize all the myths romantic movies shove down our throats; after all, not all break ups lead to a sudden realization of one's independence and life goals. The film seems to say that there are no easy answers where love is concerned. However, the over-bearing nature of Julien's seizure of Nora and her all-too-willing, wistful acceptance of his dominance make us wonder how we're supposed to feel about the film's end. I want to say to the film, "I know there are no easy answers, but what are yours? And if not yours, then what are Nora's?" In the end, these questions seem too elemental to the film's center to remain unanswered.
Overall, Broken English features an excellent performance by Parker Posey, but it's stuck in a film that is being deliberately obscure in all the wrong ways.