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Get Broken by this Short Film
By Ryan Parsons | Image from Official Site
Broken
A Look at Broken
Broken is directed by Alex Ferrari and
was written by both Ferrari and Jorge F. Rodriguez. Before I get too deep
into this film, here is the synopsis from the official site:
A gun blast, a flash of light, and a
young woman awakens to the comfort of her own bed. Bonnie Clayton has it
all, a great relationship, a challenging career, and the burden of a dream
that grows more vivid and disturbing with each passing night. But when Bonnie
is abducted by a sadistic stranger and his colorful entourage, she discovers
that the key to her survival lies within the familiar realms of her recurring
dream.
Now, judging solely from the synopsis, one can tell that Broken
should at least be pretty twisted; and it is. However, I feel that a few
of the elements in the above synopsis, though approached, were not indulged
on enough. So, for the film short of Broken, you instead have a
story that begins with the abduction of Bonnie [Samantha Jane Polay], who
quickly finds herself in some undisclosed location strapped to a chair with
a gun in her face.
Bonnie has no idea why she is there, even after the head bad dude tries
to explain her situation. This then leads into a monologue from the antagonist
[you know, the dragged out speech that a villain does just before he/she
kills somebody] on the many possible things that he could do to Bonnie.
However, during this exact same moment we encounter a ninja-looking character
who is closing in on this same base of operations. While it is not explicitly
stated until later, this heavily armed character is conducting a rescue
operation for Bonnie.
Obviously, once this character in black enters
the location where Bonnie is held captive, the action begins. The action
for Broken is the centerpiece of the film that not only allows
Ferrari to show off some cool cinematography, but some nice death scenes
as well.
Soon after the action sequence for Broken, we are quickly introduced
to a cool sort of mind f@*k I had mentioned earlier and the conclusion of
the short film.
If not Broken, do not Fix
Broken
The only thing that lacks in Broken is a completely comprehensible
story. There are moments in Broken where I just had no idea why
some action or scene happened. Take for instance this example: when Bonnie
gets extremely pissed her eyes turn to a lighter shade of blue. This fact
is never explained, even though we get to see it happen. Because of this
lacking element, Broken left me slightly confused but still very
pleased with the final turnout of the film.
On the other hand, I cannot really blame the short film for the lack of
depth in the story as it is a 'short' film, with only a little over fifteen
minutes to get its idea across.
The last detail I'll approach is the acting and the characters. I liked
the characters, even though one or two leave you with one impression at
the beginning of the short, and give another impression by the end of the
film. So, maybe some slight inconsistency there. When it comes to acting,
probably your standard B-movie stuff. Some of the scenes conveyed perfect
acting by the characters while some others were a little off. But again,
it is probably the best acting you could get from a short film.
In the end, Broken is a wonderful short action film that strives
to throw good action and great cinematography right in our faces. Even though
it took Broken a couple minutes to get rolling, the film was a fantastic
ride that I can only hope gets more funding so Alex Ferrari and Jorge F.
Rodriguez can polish up some story and give this film true depth.
You can go to the official Broken website HERE,
and check out the Broken trailer HERE.
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Ryan Parsons
Sources: Image from Official Site
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