I found Broken Vows to be a very interesting film with striking black and white imagery. While I enjoyed the musical score and the very unique angles that the film maker chose to tell the story, I feel that the film missed an opportunity to engage the audience, really develop its characters and draw the audience in emotionally.
One way to do this would have been to show more of the actor’s expressions. We very rarely saw the actor's faces, so it was a little difficult to tell what they were thinking, how they were feeling and how we, as the viewers were supposed to feel while watching the scenes. The scene when the male actor leaves the bar, it would have been great to see a front shot of him stumbling towards the camera, while the female lead stalks behind him with a compelling look on her face. This would put the viewer in “uh oh, what’s going to happen” mode, as opposed to feeling like we are on the outside looking in. I definitely think the film needed more emotional appeal and that it missed opportunities to tell us more about the characters. Perhaps adding a little more to the plot of the story would have really made the film feel more complete. This could be done with more facial shots and facial expressions, which wouldn’t necessarily make the film longer, but it would make better use of the time already used in the film.
Overall, I feel the filmmaker did a good job with this film. I would definitely be interested in watching more of their work in the future.
One way to do this would have been to show more of the actor’s expressions. We very rarely saw the actor's faces, so it was a little difficult to tell what they were thinking, how they were feeling and how we, as the viewers were supposed to feel while watching the scenes. The scene when the male actor leaves the bar, it would have been great to see a front shot of him stumbling towards the camera, while the female lead stalks behind him with a compelling look on her face. This would put the viewer in “uh oh, what’s going to happen” mode, as opposed to feeling like we are on the outside looking in. I definitely think the film needed more emotional appeal and that it missed opportunities to tell us more about the characters. Perhaps adding a little more to the plot of the story would have really made the film feel more complete. This could be done with more facial shots and facial expressions, which wouldn’t necessarily make the film longer, but it would make better use of the time already used in the film.
Overall, I feel the filmmaker did a good job with this film. I would definitely be interested in watching more of their work in the future.