Broken Horses

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 10th April, 2015
Time : 101 minutes
Director : Vidhu Vinod Chopra; Writer : Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Abhijat Joshi; Music : John Debney
Starring : Chris Marquette, Anton Yelchin, Vincent D’Onofrio, Maria Valverde, Sean Patrick Flanery, Jordi Caballero, Henry Shotwell, Nicholas Neve, Jeremy Luke



Its slow, dark, predictable, slightly twisted, claustrophobic and gripping
Its a movie set in redneck country, somewhere around the Mexican border, about brotherly love.
One, Chris, is a little slow but being elder, becomes a hit man after his father’s death to protect the younger one
The younger one, Anton, is a violinist. Had been asked by his father to take care of the elder brother, as he was a bit slow on the uptake. But after passing out of school, moving to another place he hasn’t really been in touch with his brother. But decides to visit, just before his wedding.

Vincent D’Onofrio owns the town, has his fingers in many illegal pies. And has a special relationship with Chris. Who does his dirty work (killing). And in return is taken care of by Vincent and his henchmen.
Anton, though, finds that things have changed for the worse since his departure. And that his arrival, and impending nuptials, have kicked off a maelstrom in their tiny town.

What I liked about the film was the atmosphere created, a stultifying, constricting sense of impending doom, thanks to the locales (dry, dusty, unforgiving), the characters and excellent performances, with Chris being the pick of the lot. Especially in one terrifying scene when a traitor in their midst is discovered. Jordi Caballero and Maria Valverde also were very good in their cameos. And Vincent was as good as you would expect from this accomplished character actor.

However, I did also feel it was much ado about nothing. It’s a nice tale but not mind-blowing or unique. Its not one to stay with you either – interesting for fans of its genre and too slow for others – but for both, its over the minute you walk out of the theatre. Cant fathom, of all the topics to write / make a film about, the accomplished Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Abhijat Joshi chose this for their Hollywood maiden venture ?