Broken English (2007)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  A desperately lonely (not my words; hers: "I'm embarrassed at my own desperation") woman fails to find love in NYC so she follows a man to Paris. This is a spoiler review because the biggest problems with this film are in the third act. Parker Posey plays Nora Wilder,… More
  A desperately lonely (not my words; hers: "I'm embarrassed at my own desperation") woman fails to find love in NYC so she follows a man to Paris. 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 <i>500 Days of Summer</i>, 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, <i>Broken English</i> features an excellent performance by Parker Posey, but it's stuck in a film that is being deliberately obscure in all the wrong ways.

• Robert C

  
  I hesitate to call this a "romantic comedy" as the acting is far too solid to justify the stigma that (in my mind) comes with that moniker, even though the story line itself is predictable enough to warrant that categorization. It is in fact very romantic, in a pretty… More
  I hesitate to call this a "romantic comedy" as the acting is far too solid to justify the stigma that (in my mind) comes with that moniker, even though the story line itself is predictable enough to warrant that categorization. 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.

• Leigh R

  
  Pretty good...

• William D

  
  [size=3]"Broken English" is a lovely little film, reminiscent of Sofia Coppola's magical and under-stated "Lost in Translation." It also reminds me of Woody Allen's films from the 1970s.[/size]… More
  [size=3]"Broken English" is a lovely little film, reminiscent of Sofia Coppola's magical and under-stated "Lost in Translation." It also reminds me of Woody Allen's films from the 1970s.[/size] [size=3][img]http://www.availableimages.com/images/previews/Broken%20English%20(2007).jpg[/img][/size] [size=3]Writer/director [b]Zoe Cassavetes[/b] (daughter of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands, who has a supporting role in the film), in only her second film, has established herself as one of the most serious, funny [/size][size=3]and compassionate new filmmakers in America. She's not yet 40, so presumably we'll be seeing many more films from her in the years to come. I certainly [/size][size=3]hope she sticks to filmmaking.[/size] [img]http://theenvelope.latimes.com/media/photo/2006-11/26652837.jpg[/img] [size=3]Like Sofia Coppola, Cassavetes is an explorer [/size][size=3]of life's nooks and crannies. There is [/size][size=3]a certain main stream to life. At any given moment, one is doing a specific thing. But on the margins of that task there are all sorts of little pockets where other things occur, if fleetingly.[/size] [size=3]You could be seeing a movie, for example, and thinking mostly about the film. Bu[/size][size=3]t yo[/size][size=3]ur mind wanders a few times during the film [/size][size=3]and you [/size][size=3]contemplate in an inchoate way something relatively profound about your [/size][size=3]life.[/size] [size=3]Those asides are where Cassavetes focuses her attention. The quiet little moments when we break from the main stream of life and have a fleeting feeling that penetrates to the core of our being, without us even realizing it sometimes. This focus on the interstices of life, in my view, is one of the hallmarks of any great artist working in fiction, whether it be film or literature. The little asides we have are most often far more interesting than the main stream of daily life.[/size] [size=3][img]http://cdn.channel.aol.com/pmms/productpagemovies/0e/01/2401550[/img][/size] [size=3]The main character in "Broken English" is Nora, a college-educated, thirysomething woman who works in a posh Manhattan hotel. The asides she experiences, where she ponders her life, are getting deeper, more troubling, and harder to shake off. She often walks around New York seeming stunned, lost in some kind of vaguely disturbing reverie. She uses alcohol and tobacco to try to bring herself back to a normal functioning life. When sober, she sometimes gets overwhelmed with anxiety.[/size] [size=3][b]Parker Posey[/b] plays Nora in a beautiful and tender way, revealing her fragility in at times a powerfully naked way. Seeing Nora have an anxiety attack was something I'll not soon forget.[/size] [size=3]The biggest thing that troubles Nora is that she's in her thirties and still single. She also has not had a serious boyfriend since college. We watch her go through some humiliating experiences with men that are played for laughs on one level (at times Posey is absolutely hilarious) but heart-breaking on other levels.[/size] [size=3]At a dull party, after experiencing a few brief humiliations, Nora meets a French man named Julien, who hits on her very aggressively but also sweetly. Watching Nora decide how to handle Julien's advances was uproarious and poignant.[/size] [size=3]Through the process of getting to know Julien, Nora comes to learn a lot of things. She even ends up in Paris with her best friend (played very nicely by [b]Drea de Matteo[/b]) tracking Julien down but also on a quest for herself. There is a spectacularly beautiful scene in Paris where Nora meets an older man in a bar and has a conversation with him about love that causes her to sob. At that moment, Nora's wounds are so completely exposed that Posey sobs in a way you rarely see in movies. It's so real that it seems more like a documentary than a fiction film.[/size] [size=3]The happy ending with Julien is rather trite, but overall the film is uncompromising in its view of contemporary loneliness. It looks into the abyss with both eyes open and doesn't come to banal conclusions. [/size] [size=3]I recommend this fim, and I feel it deserves a lot more attention than it has gotten. Cassavetes deserves consideration as an Oscar nominee for Best Director, as does Posey for Best Actress.[/size]

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]In "Broken English," the most distinguishing character trait of Nora Wilder(Parker Posey, futilely trying to breathe depth into a two-dimensional charcter), a guest services manager for a hotel in New York City, is that she is single. And apparently this… More
  [font=Century Gothic]In "Broken English," the most distinguishing character trait of Nora Wilder(Parker Posey, futilely trying to breathe depth into a two-dimensional charcter), a guest services manager for a hotel in New York City, is that she is single. And apparently this bit of information concerns everyone in her circle(and maybe the New York City metropolitan area) who are constantly attempting to set her up on dates. In the interim, she has a one night stand with an actor(Justin Theroux) that she misreads. Even though she is sad that life has not turned out exactly as she thought it would, Nora still drags herself out of her apartment to a party where she meets a charming French stranger, Julien(Melvil Poupaud)...[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Broken English" is a contrived and uninspired movie that has little new to say about contemporary life. So let me try. While sitting around waiting for the perfect mate to make an appearance is a mistake, being in a relationship with somebody just for the sake of not being alone is wrong. The trick is to have an individual life with friends and a panoply of varied interests that may include literature and politics.(Getting involved with a cause is a good start.) Start from there and then meet somebody you want to be with. [/font]

• William G

  
  Posey's at her most relaxed in otherwise middling rom-com.

• Janice :

  
  Good stuff. Great onscreen chemistry. Great style.

• Tobias X

  
  Plays out like an arty European episode of SEX AND THE CITY minus the hollow characters. Parker Posey is remarkable, and Scratch Massive's ambient music lends a great deal to the lonely modernist atmosphere.

• Daisy M

  
  Nora Wilder (Parker Posey), a single woman, is heading deep into the doldrums as a result of disappointments in her professional and personal lives. A series of disastrous dates convinces her that love will always elude her. At a co-worker's party , she meets Julien (Melvil… More
  Nora Wilder (Parker Posey), a single woman, is heading deep into the doldrums as a result of disappointments in her professional and personal lives. A series of disastrous dates convinces her that love will always elude her. At a co-worker's party , she meets Julien (Melvil Poupaud), a young man from Paris, who sweeps her off her feet and invites her to France with him. Nora refuses, then wonders if she has made the biggest mistake of her life. <a href="http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/?action=view&current=broken11.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/broken11.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> Parker Posey is an amazing actress and was able to carry this movie with some real hard to swallow details. Being lonely, being scared what people think, being scared that you come off as desperate, all of these problems and more are dealt with in a really sweet but thought-provoking way in this movie. I enjoyed the characters a lot and though the ending was kind of a romance cliché, it was pleasing. I loved the character of Nora, and I liked how the movie was subtle and truthful about relationships. I think the humor lied in the honesty of being alone and wanting so bad to find that right person, but knowing that there are problems you have to deal with in yourself before its a good time to fall in love. In summation, it's a good movie about finding love even when you feel extremely anxious and worried about love. Falling in love with a guy 10 or more years younger than you its quite a challenge, only you have to stand with both feet on the ground, specially if you have been through different relationships, or something like that. I would see this movie it if I were you. Directed by Zoe Casaavettes, sister of Nick Cassavettes, who directed The NoteBook, Mom Gena Rowlands is once again in the movie, its runs in the family, the romantic blood. Cool movie <a href="http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/?action=view&current=still21.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/still21.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Quinto W

  
  Parker Posey's best performance yet. Very funny at times, painfully real at others.

• Moe E

  
  Parker Posey is Nora Wilder, a neurotic, 30-something, single woman living in New York City, working a lack-luster job, who's not very happy with her life. By her own admission, she can't remember the last time she fell asleep without the aid of alcohol, or drugs. Driven by… More
  Parker Posey is Nora Wilder, a neurotic, 30-something, single woman living in New York City, working a lack-luster job, who's not very happy with her life. By her own admission, she can't remember the last time she fell asleep without the aid of alcohol, or drugs. Driven by the impression that her friends all seem to be in happy relationships and a mother who's quick to remind her that "the good ones get snapped up so quickly at your age", Nora consistently gets involved with the wrong men, for the wrong reasons. That is until she's introduced to a laidback, Frenchman named Julien at a co-workers party, who happens to find her attractive. Written/directed by Zoe R. Cassavetes and co-starring Gena Rowlands, Drea de Matteo and Melvil Poupaud, Broken English could be interpreted as either a romantic comedy, or a tragic drama.

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