Ending Confusing
Added 11/16/2009
The ending was confusing. Also, don't expect a very hot sexual scene with Heather Graham.
This one is more of a warning against drug use.
Or this is a warning to young ladies about what kind of obstacles they can face if they want to head out to Hollywood and be famous.
I would skip buying this one, unless you are a huge Heather Graham fan. Or, it would be a good movie to show, IF you have a girlfriend or daughter heading to Hollywood.
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strange and confusing, but I loved it
Added 7/24/2009
To be totally honest I never could figure out exactly what was going on most of the time. The most obvious thing is that, the woman who stars in the movie works night shift in a cafe serving coffee to people, gets to communicate with a variety of people on a very strange night where everything seems to fall into place for the woman, and talking to her customers leads the woman to experience a little bit more of the world and the variety of people that seem to encourage her to make something of her life and to get away from the place she works.
She meets a boyfriend... at some point.... and at the end of the movie, where the storyline goes in a COMPLETELY different direction than I was expecting, her boyfriend (or rather, ex-boyfriend) returns to the cafe for a grand finale.
I did really love the movie, and even though I feel uncomfortable giving it 5 stars because I wasn't quite sure what was going on most of the time, I was *entertained* by it, and that's the point. You see, every time you think you know where the story is going, the plot suddenly jumps away from the main subject and flashbacks into the girls troubled past.
There IS a message though (an important message) and that's, don't waste your life away doing something boring if you have the talent to succeed in other areas, because there's no point being held back by anything.
As for the variety of colorful characters the woman communicates with in the cafe... I loved them. Lots of variety which leads to plenty of unexpected conversations and plot twists that entertain and amaze the viewer. Great movie, but very hard to follow.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Very poor!
Added 2/3/2009
I have a lot of dvds. I have gotten some dvds based on average or better reviews such as this one has one Amazon. If they are real marginal, I give them away for a gag gift, but I threw this one away after watching most of it in "fast forward" mode. I know there are many people who live like this, but why publicize it? Some "no mind" who watches it may want to model their life after it because they think it is cool.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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A GREAT FILM FOR THE "LIVING"!
Added 11/11/2008
There's a LOT going on in this film. IGNORE the Mainstream critics who seem to have all given this film ONE or one and a half stars. They are ALL idiots! This is a VERY GOOD MOVIE. Remember these are the SAME critics who probably gave BEVERLY HILLS CHICHUAHUA THREE Stars!
This film is about a lot of things. Others have "Broken" it down (and therein lies the title)(it means many things in this film). I will given you what this film is really all about. It is about Facing Yourself Bravely. Even if you must confront the most difficult of obstacles to Free Yourself, to Be Yourself. That is simply what this is about. And it about those who choose to live life in a 'Fully Conscious' state of mind and reality at all times without compromise, without doubt, without relying or counting on others for support. That's HARD and that's BRAVE. And tha'ts PAINFUL. It's LONELY, DEPRESSING, SAD, and ISOLATING. All of thoose things. This film fills all of those voids deeply and painstakingly.
Jeremy Sisto is simply pyschotic. he played the SAME role in WAITRESS. I wonder why he chose to play the SAME role? he wasn't a killer in WAITRESS, he was just a scumbag. Here, he is a drug addict, a scumbag, a psycho, a loser, a killer, and a delusional lonely hanger-on with INSIGHT. A painful kind of man. It's actually a BETTER role than WAITRESS but he is still playing another SCUMBAG. but HE DELIVERS THE GOODS!!
HEATHER GRAHAM gives a very solid performance as well. I think its a too controlled performance and I think she could have done slightly more in terms of showing OUTWARD emotion rather than inward. Still, for HER, its a vast improvement in acting over some of the awful film roles she has had scuh as LOST IN SPACE (yuck).
The supporting cast is GREAT. Jake Busey is funny and appropriate. Tess Harper is sad, amd gut wrenchingly real. (how could the critcs DENY her performance?)
I implore you to watch this film MORE than once to understand the awkward uneasy editing of the OU TOF TIME LINEAR DE-DEQUENCES but after two or three views it makes more sense. This film is numbing and inspiring at the same time. It's an emotional rollercoaster yet it wipes you out. This is NOT a "gfamily friendly" movie. Not for the whole family. It's for mature adults. It's for intelligent people. It's not for the stoner crowd. It's for people who might want to think a little. It might not be for the Aristocracy of Beverly Hills. It's just too damn dark, deppressing and realistic. That's a comliment to the Director and the screnplay. I really enjoyed this film. Along with Chapter 27 I found it the two best indie films of 2007.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Sharp Edges, and Busted Dreams
Added 5/29/2008
BROKEN was an extremely well-acted movie with an excellent cast. Heather Graham was wonderful as Hope, a girl whose dreams were quickly becoming nightmares with the advent of an obsessive, junkie boyfriend, Will ( Jeremy Sisto ) and his psychotic inability to leave her alone, after she breaks up with him.
Though BROKEN jumps back, and forth a bit, most of the film deals with one fateful night, in which all of Hope's demons show up as pompous producers, an affected record agent, low-level dealers, a talent-searching madame ( played to calculating, perfection by Linda Hamilton ), and a derelict. Then things really start to get bad....
There is an unrelenting quality about this movie, and a very tangible feeling of desperation that reminded me of one of my all-time favorite films, RUSH ( with Jason Patric, and Jennifer Jason Leigh from 1991 ), and like that exquisitely edgy picture, one viewing is not enough.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Three stories, three yawns
Added 1/27/2008
When i took a chance on renting this from blockbuster, the checkout lady said most people who rented it thought it was better than expected. I'm not so sure I'd be that kind. I could be critical with the eye doctor's exam not making sense (my background) or how she (Heather Grahm) breaks some news to her patient about a bad eye condition ...but sticking to the story I'd say it's just kind of slow. A little wierd also in the sense that this eye doctor is being stalked by a very quiet man in his early 20s and she is eventually ok with it. I won't spoil what happens with the stalker but the result is kind of weird. The other story in this movie has to do with the patient (actor who plays junior soprano) loosing his vision, pretty straight forward, ...yawn. Oh yea, he's a painter, can someone say cliche? I guess a third person in heather grahams life is her husband who she is separated with, he's one of the Baldwin bros. Not much going on with that third story line either. Overall, i'd save this one for when you really have nothing else to watch.
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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A little disappointing.
Added 2/5/2009
Was a little disappointed with this movie. It was just so-so, dragged on mostly. Heather was interesting but nothing like her other films.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Amazing and Insightful
Added 9/26/2008
This film directed by Alfredo De Villa is an intense emotional journey told through the lives of three main characters whose lives intertwine. I found this film very real, emotionally stimulating and totally thought provoking. From the beginning I was caught up and the experience was a honest, heart wrenching experience.
All the acting here is superb. Heather Graham leads the cast in an amazing performance as a very mysterious eye doctor. Add in Victor Rasuk in a career making performance as a 20 year old photographer who becomes obsessed with her and Dominic Chianese as one of her patients who is also excellent. All the characters here are shown very realistically and their lives are troubled and multi layered. The script as well as the directing desrve high credit here. We become involved and totally invested in these peoples lives. They are introduced vaguely and as the film progresses we discover all about their lives and the complexities of the issues they are all dealing with.
This was truly one of the best films I have seen in a long time. It is very intelligent and the way all the characters lives become entwined is very believable. This film was an emotional journey I will not soon forget. ADRIFT IN MANHATTAN does not manipulate the emotions of the viewer but rather tells the stories openly and honestly and allows the viewer to feel their own emotions.
I truly don't understand the low ratings here. I highly praise this film and also highly recommend it. Give yourself the treat of a film that will treat you the viewer with intelligence and provide a truly emotional and thought provoking journey.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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