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Broken English

Broken English

Comedy · Drama · Romance · 2007

Nora Wilder is freaking out. Everyone around her is either in a relationship, married, or has children, while she's in her thirties, alone with job she's outgrown and a mother who constantly reminds her of it all. Not to mention her best friend Audrey's "perfect marriage". But after a series of disastrous dates, Nora unexpectedly meets Julien, a quirky Frenchman who opens her eyes to a lot more than love.

Movie details

Broken English

“So Many Mr. Wrongs. So Few Mr. Rights.”

2007 Comedy · Drama · Romance 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

Nora Wilder is freaking out. Everyone around her is either in a relationship, married, or has children, while she's in her thirties, alone with job she's outgrown and a mother who constantly reminds her of it all. Not to mention her best friend Audrey's "perfect marriage". But after a series of disastrous dates, Nora unexpectedly meets Julien, a quirky Frenchman who opens her eyes to a lot more than love.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Broken English?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Comedy · 2000

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Zoe Cassavetes

Written by

Zoe Cassavetes

Parker Posey

Parker Posey

Nora Wilder

Drea de Matteo

Drea de Matteo

Audrey Andrews

Tim Guinee

Tim Guinee

Mark Andrews

Gena Rowlands

Gena Rowlands

Vivien Wilder-Mann

Melvil Poupaud

Melvil Poupaud

Julien

Justin Theroux

Justin Theroux

Nick Gable

Peter Bogdanovich

Peter Bogdanovich

Irving Mann

Court is in session

Put Broken English on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.