Just finished watching Broken and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Fantastic cast from top to bottom and the story had me gripped from the off.If it isn't on your list of productions to watch then add it!! Well done and 10 out of 10 to all involved.

British cinema does best when it doesn't try and outdo Hollywood. Here we see a simple tale of three families in the same street, all intertwining yet slowly falling apart for different reasons.'Broken' is a drama and, like all films that try to emulate real life (as opposed to giant talking robots and hordes of flesh-eating zombies), it contains a mixture of the general ingredients you find in your own day to day life, i.e. humour, emotion, happiness, sadness and conflict.Cillian Murphy shares top billing with Tim Roth, but it's Roth who, combined with his on-screen daughter 'Skunk' steals every scene, as they're one of the most believable father/daughter combination ever captured on film.I won't go into too much detail regarding the plot, as you're only going to get the one chance to see it and not know what's coming next. But, if you sit down to this one, you should laugh and cry with the highs and lows of these people's lives.I loved it - so much so that I couldn't believe anyone could not like it. Yet, it does seem to have attracted some negative criticism - mainly that it's too 'melodramatic.' Maybe it does try to combine too many devastating events into a short space of time, but hasn't Eastenders been doing that for years? If you're in the mood for a drama that is equally heart-warming as it is heart-wrenching, then give this one a go.

Disclaimer, I'm a huge fan of both Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy so the fact that they were both in this movie just made me all kinds of happy.There's something incredibly raw and real about British cinema. There's nothing glamorous about this story dealing with a neighborhood embroiled in all sorts of disputes on different levels of the social strata. Eloise Laurence just blew me away in her role as the precocious yet delightfully naive Skunk. Despite Roth's and Murphy's star-power, it was Laurence who stole the show.If you enjoy gritty family dramas on the darker side of the emotional spectrum, and are looking for something a little quirky and different, then I strongly recommend this film. In some ways it reminded me of Imaginary Heroes and The United States of Leland, but with a distinctly British personality.

Eloise Laurence, in her motion picture debut, is really terrific as Skunk, aka Emily Cunningham, in this extremely dark British drama. Tim Roth gives his usual very solid performance as Skunk's father Archie, a lawyer who is left to raise Skunk and her brother Jed (Bill Milner) after Archie's wife has run off with an accountant. They're aided by a live-in nanny Kosia, ably portrayed by Zana Marjanovic.Skunk is an 11 year old girl who must face numerous challenges in addition to the loss of her mother. She's a Type 1 diabetic, who must take daily injections and constantly monitor her blood sugar levels. She also has to contend with a new school and the bullying therein, a crush on her teacher Mr. Kiernan, played by the fine actor Cillian Murphy, as well as a first boyfriend Dillon (George Sargeant) and a first real kiss. However, even more scary and potentially more dangerous are her neighbors. There's the rageful and violent neighbor Bob Oswald, believably portrayed by Rory Kinnear, who along with his three out of control daughters are causing havoc in the neighborhood. There's also the seriously mentally disturbed Rick (Robert Emms), living across the street with his doting mother and overwhelmed father. All of these families and characters will eventually come together in brutally stark ways. The film does little to shield the viewer from very bleak and difficult scenes.Thank goodness for the movie's powerful ending or I may just have felt the whole film was just too depressing and unflinching for me.All in all, Eloise Laurence's riveting presence on screen was I think the true heart of the film. Most likely this film is not for everyone with its' heavy themes, but with its' very strong ending I was glad I stayed with it.The film was directed by Rufus Norris, an accomplished stage director but making his film debut here. It was written by Mark O'Rowe (Boy A), based on the novel by Daniel Clay.