Broken Vows

Big city drama (with Tommy Lee Jones and Annette O'Toole) tackles the hard issues

In a dubious neighborhood in Manhattan, a Catholic priest (Jones) starts to question his occupation after talking with a dying man (David Strathairn) and meeting the woman in whom the victim was once involved (Annette). M. Emmet Walsh is on hand as a know-it-all detective.

I guess “Broken Vows” (1987) is technically a television production helmed by a proven TV director (Jud Taylor) and this can be observed in the wooden delivery of the characters’ dialogues (like they just learned their lines the night before). Once you get past that issue, however, this ranks with Tommy Lee’s best movies, just don’t expect the action thrills of “The Fugitive.” Rather, it has ‘thrills’ in the sense of real-life drama, which can be more compelling than overkill action if done effectively, at least for the mature-minded.

Annette was still in her prime at 34 years-old during shooting and so was Frances Fisher, who has a smaller part as Maureen. Meanwhile Jones was 40.

I also appreciated the unexpected depiction of artists and their studios in the big city. I had a couple of friends in this uncertain line of work; one was my best friend at the time and his studio looked very similar to Stuart Chase’s in the movie, aka Amil.

The film works on three fronts: There’s the murder mystery, there’s McMahon’s struggles with the usefulness of his profession and the Catholic sect in general, and, lastly, the relationship of the two protagonists. As my title blurb suggests, the flick commendably addresses the good, the bad and the ugly of life’s blessings & curses and everything in between.

The lowkey route is taken and the movie's the better for it. For instance, we sense what's going on underneath the surface, but it's not spelled out. Lesser flicks require a passionate sex scene to 'wow' the viewer whereas this one opts for a revelatory statement or the simple clasping & kissing of hands.

It runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Montréal, Québec.

GRADE: B+