Not Easily Broken didn’t make a blip on many people’s radars back in January when it was released, grossing just over 10 million dollars. In its defense it did double its budget, and only saw a release spanning slightly over 700 theaters. I like to think I’m a fan of indie films, but I get more and more surprised every time a movie like this comes my way and I’d never gotten wind of it previously. Frankly more often than not I wish these movies hadn’t found their way to me, but it’s worth it to find that diamond in the rough every now and then. Based upon the novel of the same name, Not Easily Broken makes its way onto Blu-ray directed by Bill Duke and starring Morris Chestnut and Taraji P. Henson.
Film
Dave Johnson (Morris Chestnut) and wife Clarice (Taraji P. Henson) are at a breaking point in their marriage, they simply can’t see eye to eye on anything anymore. Not even agreeing on where they are and want to go in life, divorce only seems inevitable. To strain the relationship even further, Clarice becomes crippled in a car accident which isn’t even the worst of their problems. Dave begins to develop a friendship with single mother Julie who is raising a teenage boy, he finds solace amongst the two and realises he is longing for passion. Tragedy strikes in the death of Julie’s son, which strengthens the bond between her and Dave. Meanwhile Clarice is slipping further and further away, and Dave has to decide if he will make things right with his wife, or follow his new found instincts and start a life with Julie.
Saying this movie was a hidden gem would be a gross overstatement, Not Easily Broken fell short of any expectations I had of it. The plot lacked sincerity; I felt absolutely no passion in the story telling. This is a tragic flaw considering the films plot revolves around emotion and love.
The film addresses many issues in which I could imagine a married couple would encounter; Disagreement between ideals, passions, and what measures success and true happiness. To the films credit, I do like the manner in which it approaches these issues, in a world where divorce is common place; at least the characters are struggling and fighting for their love. But merely respecting the sanctity of wedding vows cannot make an impassionate movie entertaining. The characters simply weren’t deep enough for us to care about them, and essentially what were left with an hour and a half of boring dialogue between what are strangers to us.
Ultimately, Not Easily Broken does nothing to keep us interested. It simply tells a story that we’ve seen a hundred times before and tries too hard to be deep. The only thing that I found half decent about this movie was the acting which was pretty solid all around. More specifically I enjoyed Taraji P. Henson’s performance, especially considering she wasn’t given much depth to work with.
Video
Presented in 1080p 1.85:1 and encoded in MPEG-4, Not Easily Broken comes to Blu-ray with some good looking results.
The color palette used may not have the initial “wow” factor but it maintains a realistic look both in flesh tones and overall presentation. However some of the movies color presentation range from dull to oversaturated, which unfortunately makes the presentation inconsistent. This inconsistency tends to occur in backdrop (cars, buildings etc) and occasionally in the fore drop (clothing). Detail remains more impressive with looking background shots with both bricks from buildings and tree from leaves clearly seen.
The transfer suffers from no major problems with its print such as edge enhancement, artifacting or color banding which always a nice thing to see. Although not up to reference levels of some high budget films, Not Easily Broken provides a good video presentation.
Audio
Sony has equipped Not Easily Broken with a satisfying 5.1 TrueHD track, one that will please fans of the material. I was surprised about how active this track was. Sure the dialogue is front focused, but so often we are given a song which uses all channels effectively. When bass is used (usually during music) it blends well with the dialogue track not overpowering it but rather meshing with it well.
The films soundtrack also does a good job pushing the story forward. Although I wasn’t a fan of the film itself, the soundtrack did do a great job complimenting the various themes throughout the movie. The frequent use of all channels during this movie surprised me. Take that and mix it with a high quality presentation and you got yourself a winner.
Special Features
- Making of Feature – At less than 15 minutes you can expect very little from this making of feature. Fans of the film will be very disappointed with the lack of detail this feature goes in.
- Deleted Scenes – We are given five completely pointless deleted scenes. I have seen some worthless deleted scenes before but these truly had no purpose and are a good thing they were scraped.
Final Thoughts
To be put simply this movie is a waste of your time. I say that boldly to everyone regardless of what kind of movies you’re into. I can say that with confidence because there is really nothing to enjoy with Not Easily Broken. The story drags on and is ultimately quite predictable. The moments which should instill compassion and emotion fall completely short. But regardless if you like the film or not the Blu-ray falls short. The best aspect of the disc is the audio transfer and the video isn’t all that far behind but still quite a bit of room for improvement. Tie that together with a completely disappointing set of features and you get a disc that only a mother could love. Stay away.
