"The Broken Giant" was not released that I know of, but I was lucky enough to see it and found myself strangely moved by it. The story is an unlikely tale of a small town minister whose life begins to unravel when he befriends a "run away", an woman whose relationship with her father is so dysfunctional that the movie only hints at it, allowing the viewers imagination to do the rest. The townspeople, mayor and congregation all become involved when the minister's work begins to suffer. You have to watch this movie close to understand why the minister gets involved in this at all and by the end of the movie you will find yourself screaming "Someone rewind this thing. I think I missed something." And you did. I have seen it five times. I finally understand it. But do NOTHING while you watch it. The plot and its twists are so subtle that you will miss something important if you do so much as look down into your popcorn bucket.
2 Reviews
A quiet curiosity that offers little incentive to unearth
cfcurrie16 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
An slow moving, plodding movie that doesn't deliver a punch line. Focusing on the ideas of entrapment in a small town, and the power of lust when a small town man harbors a runaway, the film fails to build any tension. This fault lays not in poor acting, but the by-the- numbers direction and writing of Estep Nagy that tries and fails to create any momentum from the subtle emotions mined in each scene. His vision seems clear to the viewer, and yet fails to translated directly through the film due to a lack of skill.
It is Will Arnett, in a surprise reversal of his now well known comic personas, that manages to display a real commitment to the mood of the film. His performance is pensive and deliberate while never delving into pretentious posturing. Only the underdeveloped (and top-billed, but only due to his greater fame in 1997) John Glover matches Arnett with an understated and stylized performance as the 'villianous' father of character Clio Hale.
The remaining actors never dig deeper than the chops required for weeknight Lifetime movie extra. While never poor, the remaining cast seems to have zero investment in this film, and one wonders if the film maker accepted these performances as adequate to his vision simply because of his excitement to complete the film.
****SPOILER****
Of last note: Famed outsider artist Joe Coleman receives acting credit for this film. It was this credit that initially drew me to the film, but sadly, his part has been cut from the final edit.
It is Will Arnett, in a surprise reversal of his now well known comic personas, that manages to display a real commitment to the mood of the film. His performance is pensive and deliberate while never delving into pretentious posturing. Only the underdeveloped (and top-billed, but only due to his greater fame in 1997) John Glover matches Arnett with an understated and stylized performance as the 'villianous' father of character Clio Hale.
The remaining actors never dig deeper than the chops required for weeknight Lifetime movie extra. While never poor, the remaining cast seems to have zero investment in this film, and one wonders if the film maker accepted these performances as adequate to his vision simply because of his excitement to complete the film.
****SPOILER****
Of last note: Famed outsider artist Joe Coleman receives acting credit for this film. It was this credit that initially drew me to the film, but sadly, his part has been cut from the final edit.
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