Zoe R. Cassavetes: Broken English (2007)

[Chris Knipp]

ZOE R. CASSAVETES: BROKEN ENGLISH

A misleading air of conventionality

Review by Chris Knipp

As Nora Wilder in Zoe R. Cassavetes' directorial debut, Parker Posey is like Kathryn Hepburn on Valium. Her friend Audrey (The Sopranos' Drea de Metteo) is five years into a seemingly perfect but actually crumbling marriage. Is Nora herself very unlucky or very lucky? She seems lovelorn, lost. But she's beautiful, and men tell her so repeatedly. Is her job as a trouble-shooter and event organizer for a hip new downtown New York hotel glamorous, or a dead-end bore? What's obvious (and a very American romantic film premise) is that she's well into her thirties and not married. Through the job Nora dates a high-maintenance guest (Justin Theroux) who's a rising, ego-centric film actor--then finds out from gossip TV that he's got a serious girlfriend. She goes to see a classic at Film Forum with a nice guy--who turns out to be still getting over his ex. She gets coaching from her mother, Cassavetes' own mom Gena Rowlands. Then at a friend's otherwise lackluster party along comes a French guy, Julien (Melvil Poupaud), himself in movies but not an actor. And he's perfect.

Broken English is another American ode to Paris and French men. Julien is attentive. He comes on strong, leaning over Nora with fedora and T shirt, cigarette in hand, but he's nice, and he means it. Most essentially for the depressed, insecure Nora, Julien is without hang-ups. He knows she's nutty, but he's ready to deal with it.

The brief Nora-Julien affair, a few days of very good times and one Nora panic attack, ends because Julien has to go back to France. Nora doesn't know what to do. He urges her to run away with him; again he appears to mean it. She can't manage that but soon quits her job and goes to Paris with Audrey. Typically the trip seems both a lark and a disaster and ends both ambiguously and happily.

This new Cassavetes' debut pitches itself between the pop extremism of her brothers Nick (Alfa Dog) and Xian (Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession) and the in-depth relationship analyses of father John. Broken English isn't so far from a Sex and the City episode except in the way it's done. It's lightweight but it has class. This comes primarily not from the fragile plot but the nuanced acting--and casting that avoids cliché. It's a pleasure to see how Posey turns her dull role into something subtle. It's not her lines but her readings, which benefit from a screenplay whose tone is not very pronounced. Poupaud's deft understatement is likewise a pleasure to watch. His Julien is sexy, but there's nothing of the Don Juan about him; for one thing, he sticks around. He's cheerful and upbeat but never gushes. Poupaud's readings dare you not to believe him, and he knows the value of the long pause and the calm stare. Justin Theroux is a stereotype, but he has an edge. Drea de Matteo most of all seems independent and herself, never a sidekick or clichéd companion in distress. Gina Rowlands is hilariously deadpan, bossy yet self-contained and talking out of the side of her mouth.

The film suffers slightly from having more emotional intensity in the first part than the Parisian finale (which was actually shot first). But it's then, in the travel segment, that you get the sense anything could happen. Nora and Audrey get quick cheap air tickets by being couriers; their little adventures in delivery are like short stories. There are other nice touches like a trio of Frenchmen who "pick up" Nora for a bit, and a family gathering in NYC that includes Peter Bogdonovitch. Each character is well individualized in vignette segments that at times have something of a Jarmusch feel.

Some might think the closing moments are too pat, but their rhythm is sure and the final blackout gives a feeling of perfection. Broken English is doomed to be underrated because of its deceptive facade of cookie-cutter romantic comedy. But it's a very nifty piece of work. One can expect good things to come from this new Cassavetes. Not for nothing is she a close pal of Sofia Coppola. It seems clear that both Zoe and Parker know whereof they speak. And like Sofia, Zoe has taken up the paternal mantle with instant assurance.

[oscar jubis]

You mention the film's "deceptive facade of cookie-cutter romantic comedy" and I would agree that it would be deceptive to call Broken English a comedy. Most of the little humor attempted is based on French speakers mispronouncing English words, especially those that begin with "h" (thus "happiness" sounds like "a penis" coming out of French lips). Not quite inspired material.

I also didn't see anything that would merit comparison between Ms. Cassavetes and other young emerging female filmmakers like Sofia Coppola (or Julie Delpy or Sarah Polley, whose debut is still the best film I've seen all year). The film generates a bit of mystery or perhaps suspense during the final reel. Pure contrivance, as far as I'm concerned, because I didn't believe that Nora would not call Julien after his return to Paris and, even less so, that she would go there without doing so. Once in Paris, the suspense is maintained by having the heroine lose the piece of paper with Julien's phone number.

Ms. Cassavetes deserves credit for having devised a credible character and perhaps for her direction of actors. Then again, the reason to watch Broken English is Parker Posey and she is a seasoned actress who might not need much direction to deliver such a convincing performance as she does here.