Reasonably riveting tale, ostensibly based on "true events", of young mother Hope (Nadja Brand) who awakes one morning to find that she's been abducted by a creepy, mysterious stranger (Eric Colvin). After he puts her through a gruesome test of sorts, he continues to hold her captive, forcing her to do such errands as tending his garden and washing his pots. Her penalty for not performing such errands to his satisfaction will be severe... It becomes clear how quickly the writers / directors, Adam Mason and Simon Boyes, want to get to the meat and potatoes of this thing, not bothering to reveal just how this abduction went down or what led this stranger to select this woman. The movie isn't really strong on story, however, as it very much turns into a persistently grim battle of wills between these two people. We never see that much of the wilderness, and there is a true bare minimum of main characters; therefore, this is something that could work just as well on stage. Due to these elements, there is a true sense of intimacy to these proceedings. These characters truly are isolated in this little corner of the world (the movie was filmed on location in Cambridgeshire, England). It's a fairly good movie for gore lovers to watch as there are some powerful scenes of violence certain to catch their attention, not that they will be spoiled here. But this is most often a movie of psychological torture; the movie is drab looking but this does suit the tone of the material. The two main actors do a fine job. Colvin is rather spooky, while the appealing and sexy Brand makes Hope a person worth rooting for, especially as she starts to wise up to the realities of her situation, her fear dissipates, and her resolve strengthens. One thing that's intriguing here is the resolution, which achieves the combination of being happy and downbeat at the same time, as a hoped- for outcome actually comes at a price. "Broken" doesn't, when all is said and done, really rise above average, but is still reasonably entertaining for this sort of thing. It's worth a look, anyway. Seven out of 10.
Review of Broken
