Indian films typically tend to be a lengthier
than most Hollywood films, which may be part of the reason the logic of Vidhu
Vinod Chopra’s first American-made film feels so broken. Adapted from his 1989
Hindi crime classic, Parinda, Broken Horses is nearly an hour shorter
in length, but somehow still feels like too much time spent on derivative
material. Despite a plot that feels manipulatively melodramatic and
unreasonably contrived, there is raw energy in the action which could have made
these flaws forgivable if it weren’t for the tragedy that is the bland
dialogue.
Dropping the
audience into the violent story without an understanding of what is happening, Broken Horses begins with the death of a
father and the diverging roads taken by his two sons following the event.
Younger brother Jacob (Anton Yelchin) is given the opportunity to pursue his
passion of music by auditioning for the Philharmonic Orchestra in New York
How is it
possible that Jacob never knew what his brother was doing? Did he leave home
too early to see what was happening? Did Buddy never mention how he made his
living in the many letters they supposedly sent to each other? These questions
are dangling threads in the narrative, threatening to tear apart the entire
logic of the film if pulled at too hard, and the dialogue does nothing to help
smooth the inconsistencies. Although the movie develops the style and structure
of a modern western, the narrative may have made more sense if Chopra had simply
followed through on making an actual period western.
Realizing that
Buddy is being used by a local gang boss (Tom Sizemore) to do his dirty work in
a war with a Mexican drug cartel, Jacob makes the decision to infiltrate the
gang to save his brother. While this plot twist is absurd, it is not nearly as
frustrating as the lack of planning which goes into Jacob’s scheme. As things
go awry and loyalties are tested, it leads to inevitable shootouts and an
explosive resolution. Unfortunately, little feels at stake and it is difficult
to care about the outcome when so much of the emotion feels forced upon the
audience. Somewhere in here is a decent story, but Broken Horses takes all the wrong approaches in telling it.
The DVD includes
13 behind-the-scenes featurettes, making it seem like more attention went into
the archiving of the filmmaking process than the actual adaptation. Still, if
you are a fan of crime/gangster narratives and have the ability to shut off
your brain for 100 minutes, there are worse films to watch than Broken Horses.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 5.5/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
No comments:
Post a Comment