Broken English | Review

A worthwhile first effort that will definitely play well with the fans of Sex & the City and busy female Palm pilot carrying Manhattanites alike, Zoe Cassevetes’ Broken English is a modest talkie piece and nice compliment to the subgenres of female POV romances and the American in Paris tales. While there might be a lack of a fortified storyline, and at times this falls into an unnecessary clichéd territory, it is a more matured Parker Posey perf that essentially becomes the heart of this rom-com. Sometimes formulaic with self-conscious anecdotes, but deliciously entertaining in person-to-person dialogue, when you have a Cassevetes running the show you get an innate understanding for working with actors and a disregard for the visual aesthetics or definite storyline.

Demanding office hours, a dismal romantic life and a future in disrepair – all matter of fact realities for the larger portion of today’s thirty-something’s generation that are well reflected in this strike out queen. Belonging to a dating world where there are 31 flavors to choose from and no plastic spoons to scoop with, the film’s middle point is where the narrative takes more chances by remaining in the moment – the Jean-Paul Belmondo dream boat played by Melvil Poupaud actually sticks some normalcy into the onslaught of ill-equipped bedroom partners. With vulnerabilities out in plain view, Posey refreshingly plays with her former on-screen persona found in films such as The Daytrippers and parts with some of the naiveté she could have easily embodied with this character.

Influenced by a certain Coppola kid in terms of musical selections and a range of interesting urbanscapes means that this will play out very well to its intended audience, but one wonders how viewers will respond to the idealist positioning of the central character especially in the final moments of the story arch. Difficult to take the conclusion at face value, yet the harmless ending mixed with the heroine finding her newly empowered femininity will only coax those who want to believe in so-called happy endings and while Cassevetes doesn’t dare break out of the comfort zone or lay it all on the line, Broken English becomes a film that hinges on the charm and the quirkiness of some of the episodic denouements. Father would be proud.

Reviewed on: January 20th 2007 – Sundance Film Festival.

Rating 3 stars