53
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenIt's the rare coming-of-age narrative that manages to respect the tricky ambiguities of shifting perceptions.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinRufus Norris’s debut film, Broken, is a fractured, tonally scrambled British coming-of-age movie with flashes of greatness and an intensely felt performance by a young actress named Eloise Laurence.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThere are simply too many characters jostling for attention and too many competing plot strands in a not-quite-seamless marriage of hard-edged social realism with a lyrical novelistic overlay. That said, the film is rich in poignant moments and negotiates its frequent shifts from violence to gentleness to sorrow with sensitivity.
- 60Total FilmNeil SmithTotal FilmNeil SmithBelievably charts a girl’s coming of age but is eventually capsized by lurid melodrama.
- 60Time Out LondonDave CalhounTime Out LondonDave CalhounIf its script is a little unwieldy and overwrought at times, Broken is still a work of delightful moments and strong promise for many of those involved. Norris works hard to inject some joy and wonder into what could easily be a much more dark and miserable experience.
- 60Time OutTime OutThe first feature from British theater director Rufus Norris deftly mixes gritty realism and lyrical impressionism, though its five-car pileup of a climax ultimately makes the film feel less a Greek tragedy than a miniseries in miniature.
- 50Village VoiceInkoo KangVillage VoiceInkoo KangUnfortunately, Broken lives up to its mawkish title, and the slice-of-life tragedies of the film's first half devolve into manipulative melodrama in the latter part. When society breaks, the spell does, too.
- 40The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThere are some good ideas, strong moments and a blue-chip cast in Broken, the feature-film debut from award-winning theatre and opera director Rufus Norris. But they somehow don't come together successfully.
- Norris and his director of photography Rob Hardy have shot it with stylish confidence, but Mark O’Rowe’s script (adapted from Daniel Clay’s novel) feels cramped and over-schematic.