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Bookmark this pageThe Broken (2008)
Director: Sean Ellis
Movie review
From Time Out London
As a former fashion photographer, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Sean Ellis is obsessed with surfaces: his disastrous debut feature, ‘Cashback’, was about a voyeuristic art student, while his sophomore effort, ‘The Broken’, centres on mirrors – a good metaphor for a film that is shiny and shallow.
Lena Headey plays Gina, a doctor who survives a car crash and begins to question the nature of her reality. An interesting enough premise, except that as Gina’s psychosis deepens the story reveals itself as just another badly thought out remake of an extremely well-worn horror classic. Ellis’s interest in imagery does produce some striking visuals – the slo-mo crash, some gorgeous aerial shots of London – and one supremely effective jolt. But such fleeting pleasures are undermined by an inane, directionless narrative, barely-even-one-dimensional characters and an overall sense of superficiality. ‘The Broken’ proves that Ellis has a promising future as a director – but only of commercials.
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London Issue 2006, 29 Jan - 4 Feb. 2009
User reviews of this film
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- shannon said...
- Posted on Jun 24 2009 01:44 this was a typical english film,no story line and just a load of random stuff put together to make a film,to be quite honest we should leave the film making to the americans, no ofence.
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- Broke said...
- Posted on Feb 03 2009 19:11 Honestly - the worst movie I've ever seen. Horribly slow, painfully dull and an ending that makes you want to scream at the screen... well done if you make it to the end. Half a dozen walked out of my screening...
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- bob said...
- Posted on Jan 29 2009 16:55 so just because the director's young he should get a free ride? remember citizen kane... the reviewer has a responsibility to warn his readers not to go and see this boring so-called 'horror' film
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- Baptiste said...
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Posted on Jan 28 2009 19:35
"The Broken proves that Ellis has a promising future as a director – but only of commercials."
ISN'T THAT OFFENSIVE?
Thanks for supporting young film directors.
And by the way, there's no shame to be a commercial director. - Report as inappropriate
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- BEN said...
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Posted on Jan 28 2009 19:18
I think Mr Huddlestons comments are more of a personal nature .... maybe constructive criticism would have been better suited if he did not like the film.
I loved the film - thought it was beautifully shot. I am sure Sean Ellis has full UK, if not International support (excluding one narrow minded film critic who is in clear need of anger management......) Can't wait to see what he will do next :) - Report as inappropriate
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- Editor said...
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Posted on Jan 28 2009 18:03
Baptiste - All comments are appreciated but we do have to remove the offensive ones.
Thanks - Report as inappropriate
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- Baptiste said...
- Posted on Jan 28 2009 17:58 You can erase my previous comment, but still, Tom, you don't know what it means to be a good film critic...
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Sean Ellis
Cast: Lena Headey, Richard Jenkins, Michelle Duncan, Melvil Poupaud full cast
Rated: 15
Duration: 88 mins
UK Release: Jan 30 2009
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