“Life isn’t measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
Earlier in the year, award-winning American filmmaker Nicole Conn released her deeply personal 9th feature film, More Beautiful for Having Been Broken, a story loosely based on her experiences as a mother of a child with complex needs. McKenzie (Zoe Ventoura) is the titular character, an FBI agent attempting to escape her dark past by taking a much-needed vacation in the mountains of Northern California. Soon she encounters Freddie (Cale Ferrin), a sweet, infectious boy with a complex chronic illness who is persistent in his attempts to invite her into the close-knit community that reside there.
His loving mother Samantha (Kayla Radomski) is immediately sceptical of Mckenzie’s mysterious nature and her intentions, though eventually, their shared love of Freddie unites them and a relationship blossoms.
Lacking in nuance
The shining light of the film is Cale Ferrin, the talented young actor who plays the delightful Freddie. For an actor with very little professional experience, his comedic and dramatic acting ability is oftentimes more effective than the adults he shares the screen with, and the playful scenes where he is interacting with McKenzie and Samantha are definitely the highlight of the film. As is the case with the other characters of the film, however, Freddie is under-developed and the viewer is left wanting more from his quite limited screen time.
Consequently, the relationship between the three leads feels rushed and therefore inauthentic, particularly the romantic and sexual aspect of Mckenzie and Samantha’s dynamic. Mckenzie is frequently shown as being abrasive and closed off, yet she suddenly opens up to Samantha without much prompting or development in their relationship, and the transition from frequent unpleasant interactions to sharing intensely dark secrets feels abrupt and offhand.
Narratively speaking, the film is all over the place, with too many subplots, storylines, and revelations happening simultaneously which makes for a confusing viewing experience. Even at the one hour mark, there is still quite a deal of confusion around how Mckenzie came to be at this small community and the connections between the people there; the narrative and character development is shown explicitly through copious dark flashback scenes and narration, meaning the film constantly switches between the past and the present, which can be disorientating.
As a result, the film lacks any kind of nuance and subtlety, and everything from the actors’ performances to the stale, cliche dialogue feels like an episode of a soap opera at times. We see this in a highly surface-level and stereotypical scene where Freddie is being picked on by a group of unruly teenagers; while it’s supposed to be a scene full of impact where McKenzie comes to Freddie’s aid and impresses Samantha, it ends up feeling exaggerated, over the top, and unrealistic, especially given what we know about Freddie and his self-assured and confident nature.
The tone of the film is sporadic; lighthearted and grounded one minute to drawn-out over dramatisation the next, it never really finds its feet or feels sure of its intent. While Freddie’s vision is shown through some interesting visuals that attempt to show his unique view of the world, the editing is more often choppy and uneven, with transitions that are either bland or downright confusing, and a slowed down frame rate that comes off as gimmicky. There also appears to be some continuity errors at times, where settings and the appearance of the actors seem to be different between cuts, causing confusion as to whether time has passed or otherwise.
The cinematography is occasionally enchanting, with some well-directed, visually pleasing shots of the gorgeous landscapes that play a dominant part of the film’s location. One of the final shots we see before time skips ahead to the future is the best of the film by a long shot; a sweeping one-shot that shows the family together in one place and McKenzie suddenly appearing from behind the car to let the audience know they get the happy ending they wanted – a cliched trope that definitely plays out as such here but is nevertheless satisfying.
More Beautiful for Having Been Broken: Conclusion
Like her other work, this film is undoubtedly extremely personal to Conn, whose filmography shows important representation of marginalised communities; her exploration of parenting, people with complex needs, women, and the LGBT community are themes heavily prevalent in her work.
It is difficult to criticise something that an artist has put personal experiences and every fibre of their being into, especially a smaller film such as this one without the luxury of a never-ending budget. Though the film suffers due to its execution of these significant ideas, it has heart and potential behind it, with some important things to say about love, grief, and family.
Are you familiar with Nicole Conn’s filmography? Let us know in the comments below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAimpVRhUk4
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