2008 Woodie Awards
Find pain and love with no sugary coat
Rental Night Pick: Broken English
Lauren Asinsen
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: Mixed Plate
Love always seems to elude those who want it most. Yet it particularly haunts Nora Wilder (Parker Posey), a thirty-something hotel manager in New York City. Nora has a well-paying job, nice apartment, and a hip wardrobe but none of these seem to satisfy her. She becomes cynical and depressed after a string of bad dates and starts to experience an early mid-life crisis.
In one scene, as she sips sake in a Japanese restaurant, Nora divulges to an arrogant date (Justin Theroux) how she thought she would be married with children at her age.
Just when she has given up all hope, Nora meets a handsome but flirty Frenchmen named Julien (Melvil Poupaud) at a party. Wallowing in her own sadness, Nora is too self-absorbed to first notice Julien's romantic gestures. Yet, Julien's persistence and kindness win Nora over and the two begin an intense but loving affair. Soon, Julien has to return to Paris and asks Nora to come back with him. She quickly refutes his invitation but half-heartedly says that she will visit him later. It is in that moment that you realize how much of a contradiction Nora has become. She wants a storybook romance but is ready to sabotage it at any moment due to a fear of rejection. Though the theme of the film might seem cliché, both men and women will relate to the pain that Nora goes through.
Although the plot of Broken English is not very original (one sees hints of an episode of Sex and the City and Richard Linklater's Before Sunset) and the finale is resolved too quickly, there is a certain warmth to it that makes one overlook any of the film's flaws. Unlike the sugar coated cinematography of a similar film, Amelie, the film comes off as stark and gritty.
First time director, Zoe Cassavetes, perfectly captures the loneliness and sadness that Nora feels through a series of non-speaking shots. As you watch Nora stare into the bathroom mirror or stand alone by the subway, you get the sense that Cassavetes understands how silence sometimes conveys more meaning than any dialogue could ever achieve.
Cassavetes should also be credited for allowing Posey to demonstrate a range of emotions not normally seen in her comic persona. When an ex-boyfriend recognizes her in a bakery, Posey skillfully goes from feeling surprised to nervous to having a full blown panic attack in a matter of minutes. It is Posey's performance that leaves the audience wanting more, even if for a minute.
In one scene, as she sips sake in a Japanese restaurant, Nora divulges to an arrogant date (Justin Theroux) how she thought she would be married with children at her age.
Just when she has given up all hope, Nora meets a handsome but flirty Frenchmen named Julien (Melvil Poupaud) at a party. Wallowing in her own sadness, Nora is too self-absorbed to first notice Julien's romantic gestures. Yet, Julien's persistence and kindness win Nora over and the two begin an intense but loving affair. Soon, Julien has to return to Paris and asks Nora to come back with him. She quickly refutes his invitation but half-heartedly says that she will visit him later. It is in that moment that you realize how much of a contradiction Nora has become. She wants a storybook romance but is ready to sabotage it at any moment due to a fear of rejection. Though the theme of the film might seem cliché, both men and women will relate to the pain that Nora goes through.
Although the plot of Broken English is not very original (one sees hints of an episode of Sex and the City and Richard Linklater's Before Sunset) and the finale is resolved too quickly, there is a certain warmth to it that makes one overlook any of the film's flaws. Unlike the sugar coated cinematography of a similar film, Amelie, the film comes off as stark and gritty.
First time director, Zoe Cassavetes, perfectly captures the loneliness and sadness that Nora feels through a series of non-speaking shots. As you watch Nora stare into the bathroom mirror or stand alone by the subway, you get the sense that Cassavetes understands how silence sometimes conveys more meaning than any dialogue could ever achieve.
Cassavetes should also be credited for allowing Posey to demonstrate a range of emotions not normally seen in her comic persona. When an ex-boyfriend recognizes her in a bakery, Posey skillfully goes from feeling surprised to nervous to having a full blown panic attack in a matter of minutes. It is Posey's performance that leaves the audience wanting more, even if for a minute.
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