Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- eerie
- paranoid
- surreal
- late night horror viewing
- rainy evening
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually assured and atmospherically unsettling, but divided over its opaque, slow-burning narrative.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Gina encounters a woman who looks like her, while Stefan appears to have a disturbing counterpart.
After the car crash, Gina loses parts of her memory and investigates contradictory identities and events.
London streets, apartments, and professional interiors become ominous as Gina's perception destabilizes.
The plot repeatedly questions Gina's identity and whether the people around her are who they appear to be.
Films like The Broken, and why
Enemy
psychological horror built around fractured identity, doubles, and destabilized perception
Mulholland Drive
surreal psychological thriller using memory disruption and an ominous investigation
The Double
identity anxiety, uncanny doubles, and escalating psychological dread in an urban setting
Possession
stylized psychological horror where everyday reality becomes threatening and uncertain
Movie Details
- Director
- Sean Ellis
- Release Date
- 2008-11-15
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 5.4 / 10 (227)
Cast
- Lena Headey
- Ulrich Thomsen
- Melvil Poupaud
- Michelle Duncan
- Asier Newman
- Richard Jenkins
- Daren Elliott Holmes
- Howard Ward
- Damian O'Hare
- In-sook Chappell
Common questions
- What is The Broken about?
- After a car crash fractures her memory, a London radiologist confronts an impossible double and a reality designed to undermine her identity.
- What is The Broken like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Broken as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Broken violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Broken as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Broken?
- Critics broadly found the film visually assured and atmospherically unsettling, but divided over its opaque, slow-burning narrative.
- Which films are like The Broken?
- Films with a similar feel include Enemy, Mulholland Drive, The Double, and Possession.
- How long is The Broken?
- The Broken runs 93 minutes.
