Broken (2012 film)

Cast

Plot

Eleven-year-old diabetic Emily 'Skunk' Cunningham (Eloise Laurence) lives with her father Archie (Tim Roth), her elder brother Jed (Bill Milner), and au pair Kasia (Zana Marjanović) in a typical British suburb. One of her few friends is Rick (Robert Emms), a strange young man living with his parents in the neighbourhood.

Skunk is shocked when Rick gets beaten up by Mr. Oswald (Rory Kinnear), another neighbour: one of Mr. Oswald's daughters has accused Rick of rape. From that time onwards Skunk's life goes downhill. Kasia splits up with her boyfriend Mike (Cillian Murphy), who is also Skunk's favourite teacher. Rick is put into a closed ward as he isolates himself more and more. Archie and Kasia are beginning a relationship. Mr. Oswald's daughters start bullying Skunk when the new term starts. Skunk's first boyfriend suddenly has to move to his aunt's, something he didn't dare tell her until the day before he leaves.

Skunk secretly visits Rick when he spends his first weekend at home again. When she enters the house, she finds that Rick has pushed his mother down the stairs, breaking her neck, and knocked out his father. Rick does not let Skunk leave and does not realise when Skunk, deprived of her medical supply, falls into a hypoglycemic coma. Oswald finds Skunk and saves her. In a dream sequence Skunk bids farewell to people from her childhood. She wakes up in a hospital bed, with her father at her bedside.

Accolades

Broken premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2012. It won Grand Prix of Odessa International Film Festival in 2012. The film received the Golden Eye Award for best international film on the Zurich Film Festival. It also won The British Independent Film Awards 2012 for Best British Independent Film.

Critical reception

The film received mixed to positive reviews by critics. It holds a 62% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 50 reviews and reports a rating average of 6.0 out of 10.