Title: BROKEN (Full Story)

AKA: TRAUMATIZED (Full Story)

Sequel: None

Starring:  Nse Ikpe-Etim, Kalu Ikeagwu, Bimbo Manuel, Sydney Diala, Iyke Adiele

Synopsis:

A happily married woman is forced to revisit her sordid past when two children that she abandoned unexpectedly appear at her home.

Review:

Nse Ikpe-Etim plays Miriam, a happily married woman with three children. Prior to meeting her husband she had three other children that she never told him about. The children she abandoned survived by living with other people or on the streets.

One of her neglected children, Sam (Iyke Adiele), made a living selling drugs. An old friend of Miriam’s recognized him and directed him to her home. 

Sam and his suicide prone sister barged into Miriam’s home unannounced and no one knew who they are – except Miriam. After she suffered the guilt and shame of abandoning them she was forced to confess her past to her husband. As the family tries to cope with their newfound siblings, Miriam’s husband had a confession of his own to make.

As the movie progresses we learn of Miriam’s first son, Eric who was raised in an orphanage. He wound up living with two men as a teenager after they found him ill on the street. It turns out that these men were armed robbers. Unfortunately, this became Eric’s environment and as a result he grew up living a life of crime and when the audience is introduced to him he is on death row.

Let’s Talk. Ultimately, the movie explores the vicious cycle of child abuse and abandonment. Miriam’s kids were depressed and led a life of crime due to lack of parents and proper direction. The movie is also about forgiveness while some were willing while others were not.

The problem with the story is that it’s difficult to connect with the characters. All we know about them is that their parents abandoned them. The immediate events that led them to where they were currently was missing from the story. The audience wasn’t on their journey of destruction so it was hard to care about them. This is show business so writers have to show us not tell us.

The movie also presented one emotional tone and never deviated from it. It would have been nice to see one or two happier times instead of constant crying for the entire movie. “Broken” not only suffers from story execution, it suffers from a lack of story. There were no winners here, no one triumphed and the movie abruptly ended without a sense of satisfaction.

As for technicalities, there are many instances where the background music drowned the dialogue, which was extremely annoying. 

In terms of acting, there are no complaints. Nse Ikpe-Etim and Kalu Ikeagwu mastered their characters as usual. Although the movie does have a certain level of intrigue, it simply failed to engage.  EJECT

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