The best writing is always personal, and it’s those personal stories that have the chance to take viewers places that are very original yet human, and relatable.
For ‘Broken At Love’ creator Karolina Sivas her show is lifted very much from her own life, probably a lot more than I had realized until sitting down and watching the second season with her and some of her cast for this week’s #WebSeriesWednesday. That personal connection has led the show down a very unique path, more on that later.
Before I get into what makes ‘Broken At Love’ worth watching I have to go through a pretty solid list of criticisms and critiques. For most of the series I’m on the fence about recommending it despite some real positives, such as Rob Healy’s portrayal of tennis star ‘Holden Gregory.’ His cool, yet dorky persona plays so well on camera, it’s no wonder ‘Vivie’ is so smitten. The issues, though, mostly relate to the technical. These aren’t things like audio – a common issue, they are more related to the style.
Season two of ‘Broken At Love’ is nearly two hours. And I will give Karolina and her team a lot of credit for holding my attention all the way through, but this is a very simple story. This is the story of a young girl who falls for a guy who just isn’t that interested. Some might question the need for a two hour run time, and in my opinion there are a lot of scenes that could use some trimming. Maybe I’m just a member of the A.D.D. generation but there are a lot of scenes and moments that just run on too long. Case in point, the scene with the photographer in the final episode. It absolutely deserved to be in the show, it was quality, but it did not need to go on as long as it did.
For much of the season I felt like the show was being a little too self-indulgent with the material, and the pacing hurt for it. In addition the series is pretty bland visually. We don’t have all that many cool shots, slow cuts, few angles, deep focus, little or no color correction, lots of wide shots, and minimal closeups. It’s shot very much in the vein of Kevin Smith’s ‘Clerks’ but in color. Graphics and credits are pretty ‘meh’ as well.
These are not big issues normally, but this recalls a debate I had with a producer recently about audience attention spans. His thought was that if you are asking the viewer to sit through a long story you need to be constantly visually interesting.
Interestingly enough most every issue I had with the show is solved in the final episode – an episode that is easily a cut above the rest of the series and quite exemplary. Some of this I’ll attribute to guest director Ivan Silvestrini from the web series ‘Stuck’ which proves the value of having a really talented director. This is just all around well done – one of the single best episodes I’ve watched this year.
What makes the episode really special though, is that this is where all the build up really pays off. While Vivie, in my opinion, is a little hard to sympathize with – she obsesses and obsesses over a guy who doesn’t care – I felt like we connect with her by the end because we see how important it is to her. She might be a fool, she might be self-destructive but we’ve all been there before, hell I’m texting a girl who doesn’t care right now! lol – In all seriousness ‘Broken At Love’ comes across as the story of a typical overly emotional young girl, but perhaps atypically as one that turns the experience into something positive.
The end of season two jumps forward to the creation of a web series about the events portrayed in season one. We see the character of ‘Holden’ being cast – it’s all very ‘Synecdoche New York’ or any Charlie Kaufman film really. Not sure that was an influence, but as one of my all time favorite writers I’m super glad to see something of his work pop up in a web series.
This original, personal take on a story is part of what makes web series an important cultural movement. This is a real person’s story, their real struggle, and their real triumph. When the tears flow at the end it really hits home that this is exactly the case – I was moved.
You can find both seasons of ‘Broken At Love’ online at http://brokenatlovetheseries.com
Holden does care, so I wish that was clearer to you. This season alone he panicked at the event when he thought she was going to leave. He dumps the girlfriend shortly there after. Then they begin playing some games. And by the end he friended her on Facebook in the middle of the night. They also had a coffee date and photo shoot (as represented in the finale). It’s just not his story to focus on, it’s her perception of it. Hence, I’m so glad it comes off self-indulgent!! I have a lot to say, and after season 1 fans wanted to hear more of it. 🙂
As far as the technical stuff, I have no complaints about it. It’s not supposed to be flashy. And the performances wouldn’t have been received so well if it wasn’t for the way I chose to shoot it the way I did.
And I’m glad you were moved by the ending. It was a powerful script and did feel like a payoff.
Thanks for watching. Season 3 is going to be amazing! Hopefully I’ve softened you up a bit, stop siding with all the men, would you?
Oh and after LA and the ISA’s, we’re going to be headed to MIAMI! (We didn’t get into festivals for nothing).
For you to be able to invest in the story you’ve got to be able to remember what happened in Season 1 and that being Holden wanted Vivie but couldn’t come around. For you to say it’s a story about an emotional young girl is tacky. Either you haven’t been in love or you don’t believe the story.
Visually beautiful locations, visually beautiful people, real conversations… I don’t know what more technical stuff you want. She’s a USC graduate and a true talent as is her cast – Rob, Pam, Carly, Bobby, the whole gang.
Either case this review sucks! I’m sorry she won a lot of awards for her writing, acting… when you get those awards then we’ll speak. -Ida (Executive Producer and Proud Mama)
Lastly, someone as talented as Ivan wouldn’t have come on to direct this if he thought so low of the series.
I’ve watched a lot of web serials, reviewed them, and even interviewed cast members and in my opinion Broken is one of the best ones out there. I’ve said it before, but I think this is one of only a handful of series that has heart. I found Vivie to be an extremely relatable and likable character. As for the pacing of the show and it’s length, I saw nothing wrong with those either. If anything I always finish an episode wishing it had been longer. I get that this may not be your cup of tea, but I would encourage you to watch it again from the beginning. I think you’ll find many more things you like than dislike.
‘Meh’ isn’t the most complimentary way to describe a young artists hard work. I followed along with the chat, the article doesn’t do justice to a series I’ve stayed up til 10:30pm east coast time on Thursdays to watch as soon as it’s released. I beg her for longer episodes, and more of it. the finale was definitely extra special (the photog bit was perfect) but I love the whole series starting from season 1. And I love kiirstin’s music in season 2. Don’t worry, sometimes people are intimidated by a woman who can do almost anything. And Karolina and even her cast can do anything.
Awesome post.