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Review : Insufficient plot but powerful performances is they name Broken Horses

Broken Horses movie review

This Friday, you also have a Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s maiden Hollywood venture hitting the theatres called Broken Horses. The cast stars of the film include Thomas Jane, Vincent D’Onofrio, Anton Yelchin and María Valverde, while is written, produced and directed by the only one Indian who made his mark in Hollywood called Vidhu Vinod Chopra. As per the publicity materials, filmmakers James Cameron and Alfonso Cuaron too were seen impressed describing Broken Horses as “an artistic triumph” and “overwhelming” respectively. The movie is loosely based on one of the earlier Bollywood movies called Parinda produced by the same director. Now, let’s take a view inside the film to find the crux of the same.

As you start watching the film you would see the filmmaker taking you 15 years back wherein Gabriel Heckum played by Thomas Jane is found in the shooting range being accompanied by his son Buddy Heckum played by Chris Marquette. Soon Heckum the Senior is seen losing his life the very next moment when he says he has enough time to take up the violin recital of the youngest Heckum. Soon after the young boy is out from the trauma he is seen being taken care by a local crime kingpin called Julius Hench played by Vincent D Onofrio. As years pass by the slow witted buddy is seen getting trained by Hench in order to become the hitman while the younger one goes to New York to pursue his higher studies and soon end up getting a job in Philharmonic and plans to have a wedding with his love Vittoria played by Maria Velverde. Before his wedding Jacob played by Anton Yelchin gets an invitation from his brother Buddy get a surprise from him. The moment he returned to his hometown he realises that his brother Buddy is one of the important member of Hench’s gang. He then moves out to save the life of his elder brother seeking the help of his music master Ignacio. Amidst all the risks posed by the mafia, will Jakey will be able to save his mentally unstable brother is worth to catch.

Script Analysis

It is really hard to see a skilled filmmakers like Vidhu Vinod Chopra struggling with his own script. After embarking with some of the best movies like Khamosh and even simple scripts like Ferrari Ki Sawaari, his Hollywood drams sounds very much fickle. Why the heck a fresh script is seen with the war of struggle to produce is really one of the vital questions, which can surprise you. Parinda was one of the gems of this man, which was loosely based from one of the Hollywood movies; once again making Broken Horses in Hollywood makes less sense. Though Chopra was seen editing the scripts in order to fit into the western yardsticks, yet many a time were seen unfinished and unblended. Most of the times you would realise that you are watching a Desi movie in a dubbed style, thanks to the poor and abrupt dialogues.

Performances

Now talking about the star performances, Chris Marquette as Buddy Heckum is seen doing a great job. A mentally unstable Buddy is seen in some of the best intense scenes especially the one when he seen killing a man with his bare hand. You can find lots of realism in his performance, which makes us understand, how perfectly he has played the character from the first frame. Anton Yelchin in the role of his younger brother also is seen putting his good show, however, Chris seems scoring the point here. Vincent D Onofrio is the hero of the movie, who plays the antagonist character and playing mind games with Buddy will compel you to hate him more. He is as cold as stone while his grim nature is also seen sending out chills down your spine. The other two like Maria Velvarde and Sean Patrick Flannery has little screen presence, yet their performances worth applauding here as well.

Now talking about direction editing and screenplay

Vidhu Vinodh Chopra is known as one of the veteran directors when it comes to Bollywood, however, is he able to showcase the same calibre in Hollywood is a worthy question to answer. Well you know this film is a remake of Parinda which is again inspired by one of the Hollywood movies. Hence making it a remake in Hollywood is an exercise to futility. However, for Chopra when his script failed, his camera seemed winning the race. Tom Stern is seen capturing landscapes and good amount of panoramic views of the hills so nicely. The production team too has done a lucrative job making a nicely looking movie. The natural lighting is very nicely used while the scenes captured in the twilight can render you a good viewing experience. The technical team did some excellent work and left no stone unturned to lift the screen as much as possible.

Broken Horses Review Last Word

Broken Horses may appear to be a beautiful movie when it comes to fine cinematography and star performances. However, the plot in the film seems hampering the film in a big way. The film inspired by Parinda doesn’t really seem to be gelling in a perfect order, but in terms of action and performance the movie still has the potential to compete with others over the Box Office. You cannot expect much in terms of rating, which could not move beyond 3.0

Rating – 3.0

Manoj L

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One Comment

  1. It’s nearly impossible to find educated people for this topic, however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about!

    Thanks

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