Broken Vows (Blu-ray) (2016)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Trailer-x 6 for other Eagle Entertainment releases
Rating
Year Of Production	2016
Running Time	90:37
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Bram Coppens
Studio Distributor	Eagle Entertainment	Starring	Wes Bentley Jaimie Alexander Cam Gigandet Alexandra Breckenridge Alex Ladove
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	David Julyan

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     On a weekend away with girlfriends a few weeks before her wedding Tara (Jaimie Alexander) meets sexy barman Patrick (Wes Bentley) in a club and spends the night with him. When she wakes up in the morning Patrick has already tattooed “Tara” onto his arm and tells her that “you are the one who can save me”. Regretting her indiscretion Tara quickly leaves and flies home to her fiancé Michael (Cam Gigandet). But she has left her mobile phone behind with all her contacts and details. A few weeks later Patrick turns up at her home, vowing eternal love; Tara barely gets rid of him before Michael arrives. Tara tries to tell Michael about Patrick but she cannot so Tara’s girlfriend Debra (Alexandra Breckenridge) suggests they hire a private detective to look into Patrick’s background; the result is not comforting, for Patrick has a history of violence and obsession about women and was suspected of causing the death of a young nurse.

     Rejected by Tara, Patrick sets out to sabotage her wedding; he starts by ringing and cancelling the hotel bookings, wedding cake, dress and flowers, then stalks Tara’s younger sister Emily (Alex Ladove). Patrick also approaches Michael indicating that he should ask Tara about him, but Michael tells Patrick to get lost. When all Patrick’s attempts to prevent the wedding have failed, he attends the wedding but is intercepted by Debra and the private detective and beaten up. But this only confirms Patrick’s obsession with Tara and his determination to be with his true love. This is not going to end happily.

     In Fatal Attraction (1987) married man Michael Douglas learned that a one night stand can have deadly consequences for himself and his family. Broken Vows switches the genders but the message is the same: be careful who you have a fling with. Broken Vows is directed by Belgian Bram Coppens in his English language debut but it must be said that that he does not bring anything new, or any European sensibilities, to the story. The opening set-up is perhaps the least convincing part of the film; the interrelationship between Jaimie Alexander and Wes Bentley lacks any spark, the acting and dialogue are stilted and the sex pedestrian. Right from when we first see him Wes Bentley’s Patrick is an intense, brooding and obviously disturbed guy any sensible woman would avoid, so his intensity and long stares do not really work at the beginning of the film. However, as the story unfolds and his obsession becomes more off-kilter Bentley is provides us with a seriously creepy, menacing and delusional person, making this part of the film more effective, if not believable.

     Indeed, Broken Vows has a number of plot contrivances and “you’re not serious” moments during the stalking which tend to undermine the story but as the film moves towards its final act the thriller elements kick in to add some tense and interesting moments to the proceedings although the climax is still contrived and predictable, even with the final twist.

Video

     Broken Vows is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     The print looks as one should expect of a recent, digitally shot film. Detail is firm, colours have that bright, glossy sheen, blacks and shadow detail are fine, skin tones natural except for some yellowish tinge under lights, brightness and contrast consistent.

     There is glare in scenes where the light source is behind the actor but artefacts and marks were absent.

     There are no subtitles provided.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     English DTS-HD MA 5.1 is the only audio choice.

     The dialogue is clear, centred and easy to understand. The rears and surrounds were used mostly for the score although effects became noticeable during the club scenes and when the surrounds featured atonal affects when Patrick was at his most disturbed and delusional. The sub-woofer added depth to the music, atonal effects and in one scene which featured horse’s hooves.

     The score by David Julyan was effective.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Trailers

     Trailers for Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong (1:59), Beta Test (2:14), Android (2:06), Hard Sell (2:06), The Hollow Point (2:26) and Bravetown (2:34) play on start-up. They cannot be selected from the menu.

     This Australian release of Broken Vows is the only Blu-ray version listed on Amazon.

     Broken Vows is not much of a thriller as it leaves the tension to its final act. However, as a study of stalking and obsession it has its moments, helped by an intense, menacing and creepy performance by Wes Bentley.

     The video and audio are fine. Trailers for other films are the only extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall