Broken English is a film detailing the story of neurotic, lonely Nora Wilder, a late-30-something New Yorker whose pursuit of true love has met with consistent failure and devastation. A Magnolia Pictures project whose DVD was released on December 31, 2007, Broken English landed the Jury Award at the 2007 Philadelphia Film Festival. It was also nominated at both the Sundance Film Festival (for the Grand Jury Prize) as well as the Independent Spirit Awards of 2007
WARNING: SPOILERS LURK WITHIN, SO DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO BE *SURPRISED*.
The inimitable Parker Posey, the "Queen of the Indies" (as she is best known for working on off-the-beaten-track projects), strikes a distinctly authentic chord as Nora, who works at a stylish boutique hotel as a "guest coordinator": her role is to ensure that guests have every need completely met by the establishment. Her best friend, Audrey Andrews (Drea de Matteo), is feted at an anniversary party held to celebrate her fifth year of marriage to Mark (Tim Guinee). Nora, who had originally introduced the couple, is accosted by her mother, Vivien (played to insidiously-controlling perfection by Gena Rowlands, the real-life mother of the film's writer and director, Zoe Cassavetes), halfway through the party. "Why is it you've let all the good ones slip away?", Viv stage whispers, anxiously peering about at the guests for a possible match for her solitary offspring.
Nora meets the self-centered actor, Nick Gable (here, an unlikely-looking, mohawked Justin Theroux), as he registers at the hotel. Their brief involvement is not blessed with endurance. She is then set up on a blind date (by her mother, no less) with Charlie Ross (Josh Hamilton), who is only very recently divorced from a clingy wife. It is not successful. Nearing desperation, Nora accepts an invitation to a party thrown by her co-worker, Glen (Michael Panes). The festivities find her drinking heavily and chain-smoking while wallowing in self-pity. She steps onto the elevator, stating her good-byes, when Glen introduces her to his slightly goofy, sincerely charming friend Julien (Melvil Poupaud). Jules is Parisian and knows Glen from when he was living with his family in France on a student-exchange program.
A weekend romance blooms between Nora and Julien--almost against Nora's will. Feeling burdened by her rounds of courtship failure, she is loathe to submit to his wiles. In the end she surrenders to them and delights in his company--amid suffering through anxiety attacks (for which she has a prescription) and wondering at what their future will hold.
Julien springs an unhealthy surprise in telling Nora he must soon return to France because his guest visa is going to expire. He asks her to join him, but Nora relates a litany of reasons why she cannot uproot her life on the spur of the moment for him; Julien makes his egress. She descends into a maelstrom of self-destruction, obliterating her career at the hotel and wandering about in a blind funk. Audrey convinces Nora to join her on a business excursion to Paris; Nora excitedly decides to look for Julien while she is there.
Unfortunately, she misplaces the scrap of paper on which she'd written his cell phone number. Nora bravely decides to remain in France when Audrey departs for America. At the eleventh hour, she randomly encounters Julien on a subway. "You know you will miss your plane?", he asks gently at the sophisticated cafe into which he leads her in the film's final moments. Blind with grateful tears, the lovelorn Nora Wilder nods, realizing she has finally discovered true love with her adorably offbeat Frenchman.
I've long adored the quirky, fabulous Ms. Posey. Her Broken English was 96 minutes of mellifluous music to my ears.
WARNING: SPOILERS LURK WITHIN, SO DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO BE *SURPRISED*.
The inimitable Parker Posey, the "Queen of the Indies" (as she is best known for working on off-the-beaten-track projects), strikes a distinctly authentic chord as Nora, who works at a stylish boutique hotel as a "guest coordinator": her role is to ensure that guests have every need completely met by the establishment. Her best friend, Audrey Andrews (Drea de Matteo), is feted at an anniversary party held to celebrate her fifth year of marriage to Mark (Tim Guinee). Nora, who had originally introduced the couple, is accosted by her mother, Vivien (played to insidiously-controlling perfection by Gena Rowlands, the real-life mother of the film's writer and director, Zoe Cassavetes), halfway through the party. "Why is it you've let all the good ones slip away?", Viv stage whispers, anxiously peering about at the guests for a possible match for her solitary offspring.
Nora meets the self-centered actor, Nick Gable (here, an unlikely-looking, mohawked Justin Theroux), as he registers at the hotel. Their brief involvement is not blessed with endurance. She is then set up on a blind date (by her mother, no less) with Charlie Ross (Josh Hamilton), who is only very recently divorced from a clingy wife. It is not successful. Nearing desperation, Nora accepts an invitation to a party thrown by her co-worker, Glen (Michael Panes). The festivities find her drinking heavily and chain-smoking while wallowing in self-pity. She steps onto the elevator, stating her good-byes, when Glen introduces her to his slightly goofy, sincerely charming friend Julien (Melvil Poupaud). Jules is Parisian and knows Glen from when he was living with his family in France on a student-exchange program.
A weekend romance blooms between Nora and Julien--almost against Nora's will. Feeling burdened by her rounds of courtship failure, she is loathe to submit to his wiles. In the end she surrenders to them and delights in his company--amid suffering through anxiety attacks (for which she has a prescription) and wondering at what their future will hold.
Julien springs an unhealthy surprise in telling Nora he must soon return to France because his guest visa is going to expire. He asks her to join him, but Nora relates a litany of reasons why she cannot uproot her life on the spur of the moment for him; Julien makes his egress. She descends into a maelstrom of self-destruction, obliterating her career at the hotel and wandering about in a blind funk. Audrey convinces Nora to join her on a business excursion to Paris; Nora excitedly decides to look for Julien while she is there.
Unfortunately, she misplaces the scrap of paper on which she'd written his cell phone number. Nora bravely decides to remain in France when Audrey departs for America. At the eleventh hour, she randomly encounters Julien on a subway. "You know you will miss your plane?", he asks gently at the sophisticated cafe into which he leads her in the film's final moments. Blind with grateful tears, the lovelorn Nora Wilder nods, realizing she has finally discovered true love with her adorably offbeat Frenchman.
I've long adored the quirky, fabulous Ms. Posey. Her Broken English was 96 minutes of mellifluous music to my ears.
1 comment:
Great review! Can't wait to see this.
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