Broken Hill, written and directed by Dagen Merrill, opened in select cities across the nation on Sept. 11, 2009. In his theatrical debut, Merrill aspires to captivate and motivate the audience in a touching attempt to capture the dreams of a young man who has ambitions of becoming a composer and orchestrating classical music.
Rated PG for thematic elements and some language, the movie runs approximately 98 minutes. Broken Hill’s stars are Alexa Vega (Spy Kids 1, 2 & 3), Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People) and new comer Luke Arnold.
In a world where imagination has no boundaries, Tommy McAlpine (Luke Arnold) dares to dream; in everything he puts his hands on and in everything he sees, Tommy can feel and hear the sound of music.
From the sounds of the rushing winds and crickets chirping in the night, Tommy visualizes himself as one with his dreams.
Tommy has high hopes and ambitions of attending the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, though his father George McAlpine (Timothy Hutton) opposes the idea and thinks he should focus on what is right in front of him rather than letting his imagination blind his priorities.
In a battle between what his father wants for him, and what he knows he has longed for all his years, Tommy ultimately takes his destiny into his own hands and decides to follows his passion.
But he unexpectedly breaks the law – thanks to his love interest (who at this point is not considered to be) Kat Rogers (Alexa Vega), who involves him in vandalism and evasion of the authorities.
The judge sentences Tommy and Kat to community service at a local correctional facility, where they form a prison band.
From then on, Tommy has one plan in mind and that is to prepare the inmates for a shot at a regional competition for his own benefit. Tommy plans to audition for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at the competition at Broken Hill.
Both natural born musicians; the two put their minds together in an attempt to raise the expectation and ready themselves for potentially the biggest event of their lives thus far. This is Tommy’s shot at everything he has ever dreamed of his entire life.
In the midst of transferring the band from the prison to the competition at Broken Hill, an inmate manages to escape and the entire event becomes a hunting ground for the escaped convict.
Tommy did not consider the consequences of his brave attempt to organize the inmates and believed that no one would have other motives for going along with his idea of a potential out of prison musical performance.
Ultimately the show was canceled and the band was dismembered, only to be contacted by the prison warden days later to let him know he had one last opportunity to ready his band for one last chance to perform at a competition in Sydney.
Will the showcase prove to be Tommy’s masterpiece he has longed for his entire life or will Tommy find himself at square one, once again trying to establish his foundation for which his passion can shine through the cracks and touch others as it has himself.
Broken Hill is a classic in its own right, Alexa Vega and Luke Arnold give spectacular performances. The on screen chemistry between the two is undeniably heartwarming. The music in the film featured many different sounds and combinations of rhythm patterns.
Instead of playing trumpets, saxophones and flutes, Merrill brought something very exciting and fun into the composition of the music played in the film such as using buckets to play an alternate version of drums, tapping on violins with their bows, clapping and banging hammers to accompany the other instruments went together very beautifully to make a magnificent music score.
Broken Hill does not fail to deliver, in a world where so-called “entertainment” is based around violence, crude behavior and profanity, this film deserves a fair chance and should be watched with an open mind.
Excellence is not based on attempts to wow the audience with big budgets and secular themes. It’s the imagination, importance, originality and depth that make films like Broken hill standout with brilliant concepts which make it much more than just a film. Broken Hill is a definite must see.