- Release year: 2025
- Director: Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard.
- Producer: Beth Earl.
- Screenplay by: Iain Forsyth, Ian Martin, and Jane Pollard.
- Cinematography by: Daniel Landin and Erik Wilson.
- Music by: Rob Ellis and Adrian Utley.
Synopsis: documentary about singer, songwriter, and actress Marianne Faithfull.
Shotgun Commentary: a fair homage to yet another incredible woman silenced by society and history.
Review
Broken English is a pretty standard documentary that shares the life of a great star soon forgotten under piles of lies and sexism. You guessed it, your average documentary about a famous woman. Still, if you happen to love music, rebels, and/or proper storytelling, you will thoroughly enjoy this piece. For those of you in Scotland, it will be screened this weekend in Dunoon; don’t miss it! More details after the review.
Sure, but is it necessary?
The film follows the life of Marianne Faithfull, an artist mostly known for being one of Mick Jagger’s exes, which is depressing as hell considering all she did throughout her life. To approach a character that has been systematically dismissed throughout her life, the documentary uses an intriguing technique. It gets a few actors and actresses, mainly Tilda Swinton and George MacKay, to present the story of the Ministry of Not Forgetting. Not to be confused with the Ministry of Remembering. As Swinton’s character explains, “remembering” and “not forgetting” are not the same. A distinction that seems quite important from the way she says it, but not important enough to be properly explained, apparently.
Surely, the fictional tint of the documentary is meant to hinge on the fact that so many women are constantly being silenced and erased from history. However, combining fact and fiction can get a little confusing for audiences. Having George MacKay playing “The Record Keeper” while interviewing the real Marianne Faithfull makes you wonder whether any of what you are seeing is actually true.
Tilda Swinton, in her role of “The Overseer”, further muddles reality and fiction by taking on the role of narrator. Her text, although not wrong and mostly quite engaging, could have easily been a voiceover. As for MacKay’s character, it could have just been the actor interviewing her. The premise of an imaginary ministry just to deliver a regular documentary is cute, sure, but completely unjustified.
A new approach
Still, the documentary itself is wonderful. It skims through the facts while focusing mostly on Faithfull’s reactions and feelings about them. After all, anyone can read a Wikipedia nowadays, but those don’t usually feature any information about the emotions the subject felt or how certain moments shaped their mindset. This insight is invaluable to truly understand the life of a person, as are the in-depth research and friend testimonies sprinkled across the main narrative.
In Faithfull’s case, this approach is absolutely crucial, as the press has so very often manipulated her story to fit their interests. Had this been a more “impartial” documentary where the narrator merely describes a succession of events as they were recorded at the time—by the press, of course—the result of the documentary would have been much different. Furthermore, it would have constituted a lie built on truths and twisted by biases and sexism.
All in all, Broken English demonstrates how much the same story can change depending on who the narrator is. Moreover, it defies the standard biases to provide what seems like a fairer account of Faithfull’s life: the one she herself experienced.
You can now enjoy this fantastic piece for free at Dunoon Film Festival, running from the 8th of May to the 10th. Broken English will be screened on Sunday the 10th at 19:00 at Studio Cinema Dunoon.
MORE INFO ON THE SCREENING AND TICKETS HERE!
Advice to take from this movie:
- If you suspect that a famous woman in history might have been under-represented, chances are you are right.
- Drugs don’t make problems go away. They only make you more vulnerable to them.
- At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what others think or say about you. You are the only one who has to live with yourself 24/7.
What’s your take? Have you watched Broken English? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message on my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀