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On this page: BROKEN ENGLISH

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 18.Mar.26

Broken English
Review by Rich Cline | 4.5/5

MUST SEE

dir-scr Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard
prd Beth Earl
with Marianne Faithfull, George MacKay, Tilda Swinton, Sophia Di Martino, Zawe Ashton, Calvin Demba, John Dunbar, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Courtney Love, Suki Waterhouse, Beth Orton, Jehnny Beth
release UK 20.Mar.26
25/UK 1h39

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This documentary about the original rock chick Marianne Faithfull is inventively set within a timeless Ministry of Not Forgetting. The point is to explore her expansive career, reminding us that she is so much more than Mick Jagger's ex. Filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard include a fabulous range of archival footage alongside witty, insightful new scenes in this playfully surreal setting. The film's unusually offhanded approach is riveting.

Guided by the Overseer (Swinton), the Record Keeper (MacKay) interviews Faithfull about her life. As a 17-year-old folk and pop musician, she found herself at the centre of the 1960s cultural scene alongside Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, bristling with youthfulness, intelligence and talent. But her image was continually shaped by the media, forcing her to tone down her expressive artistry. Other ministry staff sift through archives and host musicians and pundits in recording studios exploring the various aspects of her life and career, from the music to her uniquely effective style of activism.

Acclaimed as an actor, singer and songwriter, Faithfull was a force of nature who survived addiction, overdoses, suicide attempts, cancer and a Covid-induced coma. She died at 78, shortly before this film was completed. So this feels even more like a treasure trove, as old clips spark Faithfull's memory as she revisits her life, sharing wonderful anecdotes and clearing up misconceptions. She reveals feelings with a wonderful candour, tracing her highs and lows to the burst of personal expression with her 1979 comeback hit Broken English. Her gifted work over the decades is extraordinary, cemented in a gorgeous closing sequence: her final performance, alongside Cave and Ellis.

With its offbeat framing structure, the film's tone is brisk and light, anchored in the easy chemistry between Faithfull and MacKay. Her replies are strikingly frank, laced with humour as she reacts to things she said and did as an outspoken young woman. The filmmakers also hone in on the astonishingly sexist way the media covered her, and how she repeatedly fought against that. Her straight-spoken comments about dealing with addiction are revelatory. Her comments about friendship and love are profound. And in the end, the salient point is that cultural legacies need to be preserved intentionally and honestly.

themes, language 16.Mar.26

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL