Broken English

It is a story that could have been very tired and cheesy but the script and acting made this one of the most superbly created film in modern day movie history.

The emotional nuances throughout the film was impeccably delivered by both Posey and Poupaud. Cassavetes achieves the perfect balance of emotion and understatement in the realistic yet hopeful portrayal of a woman's struggle with her own insecurities.

Melvil Poupaud however is the true gem of the film. His portrayal of Julien is masterfully executed and inexplicably touching. This movie is a rare find.

BROKEN English reminded me of the magic of BEFORE SUNRISE/BEFORE SUNSET in a Parker Posey "Tour De Force" with a performance that captures the vulnerabilities that all of us have in ever finding love. The film is a delight to watch, but in Ms. Posey, one of America's best actors, the story rings true in today's world of "work, work, work" and if you play, "God, I hope I find someone worthwhile!"

I loved this film on so many levels-fabulous cast, writing and of course, location-New York and Paris, are just two incredible cities that you want to find romance with someone very special. Melvil Poupaud was an exceptional discovery and his French charm worked so well on the screen. Vive La France! I salute Zoe Cassavetes who has directed and written a story that brought me back to remembering the beauty of watching Ethan Hawke and the glorious Julie Delpy romp and play in both Vienna and Paris with characters you wanted to stay with, and hope they would be together forever.

In BROKEN English, I would love to see another story from Paris on how Nora really found love and happiness. Merci beau coup, ZoeCassevetes.

Parker Posey and a generally good cast struggle against an underdone script. You can sort of see what the writer and director intended, but it doesn't really come off. In spite of Parker's best efforts, and they are quite fine, this film meanders along on its surface. People suffer in affluent, superficial ways. There's lots of whining about alienation and loneliness. Yet no one has any observable problems that warrant their apparent dysfunction. It's hard to feel much affinity for the spoiled, self-indulgent female friends who complain about their fates in a somewhat muddled fashion. This is a story where character development is essential, but nothing of the sort arrives in time to redeem the unlikeable best friends whose personal travails should evoke interest and sympathy from the audience.

This movie was understated and may seem slow to some, but if you are able to understand the subtlety of Parker Posey's facial expressions, will you understand the journey of the movie. The French actor did a remarkable job at being real, interested, while avoid the stereotypical European romantic. His role was solid and his confidence greatly contrasted Parker Posey, whose role was a passage of the female soul during moments of indecision and self-doubt. To me, and to anyone who has had a similar experience, the movie holds great weight. I also was partial to the film's soundtrack, which features a great song by Soundtrack and Scratch Massive. It adds to the movie and to its subtle introspection.

This film is a shallow treatise on the problems of locating love for a young woman in the city. The main character is self-centered, and yet seems to have no real interests. She is desperately looking for someone to love her in order to save her from herself. She is not really interested in other people, only in their ability to "love" her, even if they are assholes and total strangers. The movie takes the position that her attitude is normal, and in doing so misses an opportunity to be interesting. The movie fails to make an assessment about the existential problems of the character, or to question her myopic vision and lack of center and dignity. The film, like its characters, is a surface without a center, and ends up being mainstream, shallow, hollow, and sentimental. It's no wonder that's it's safe for audiences today, for it reinforces the popular idea that women are dependent on men for their happiness and to fill a hole or void. The film is indeed a fairy tale, for a woman who behaves like a depressed, mopey, self-hating dishrag all of the time would be very lucky to find a man to love her.