Review: Broken English

In her film, "Broken English," director Zoe R. Cassavetes creates a story so real that the viewer questions whether they are sitting in a cinema or whether they are watching the lives of their friends - or themselves - unfold on the big screen. Parker Posey plays Nora Wilder, a slightly neurotic, slightly quirky 30-something-year-old single woman in New York City who has an unending stream of bad dates. True to the woes of a single woman, Nora is surrounded by well-intentioned relatives who constantly ask after her love life, as well as a best friend, played brilliantly by Drea deMatteo (Sopranos), who from afar is in the picture-perfect marriage. Enter Julien (played by Melvil Poupaud, my newest crush), a frenchman in New York for a brief visit, who does his best to woo the insecure Nora.

There are several elements that set this movie apart from a typical romantic comedy. The humor is subtle and true to life, the type that goes over the heads of some audience members but elicits a laugh from others. At one point, Nora is confronted with relatives giving her the stereotypical love advice; my friend and I found it amusing as we are in the same predicament as Nora, and have been in her awkward situation countless times. Yet the scene was constructed in such a subtle way that the few laughs from the crowd were not staged in the least bit. The same goes for her string of bad dates; the humor is in the reality of the situation, not cliched scripting. This movie was not 'Hollywood' - there was no magic, no phantom music playing to create the romance for the star-crossed lovers. The characters had to figure out their feelings on their own - by searching within themselves, by distancing themselves from their everyday lives, by challenging their own comforts and routines.

My only fault with the movie is the imbalance of character development between Nora and Julien. One leaves knowing Nora, and feeling a bit of Nora in themselves, whereas Julien remains a bit of a mystery. But, as in real life, Nora and Julien stumble through gray areas - feelings here are not cut and dry or easily recognizable. They make bad decisions. They are real people, up there, on the big screen. They leave you wondering. They leave you sighing; fulfilled yet wanting to know more.

Don't see this movie if you need action, fast-paced scenes, or laugh-out-loud moments. If you like to talk, analyze, pick apart, and relate your own life to film, then Broken English will not disappoint.