The film stars Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy, and Eloise Laurence, with Rory Kinnear, Robert Emms, Zana Marjanović, Clare Burt, Bill Milner, and Denis Lawson in supporting roles.

Eleven-year-old diabetic Emily 'Skunk' Cunningham lives with her solicitor father Archie, her elder brother Jed, and au pair Kasia on a cul-de-sac in a British suburb.

[2] Cillian Murphy was set to star that month,[3] while Tim Roth, Rory Kinnear, Robert Emms, Zana Marjanović, Bill Milner, and Eloise Laurence joined the cast in October 2011.

[15] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars and wrote, "There are some good ideas, strong moments and a blue-chip cast in Broken […].

"[16] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "Overburdened as it is by narrative clutter and climactic melodrama, Broken is always emotionally engaging, never more so than when Laurence is at the center of a scene.

"[17] Fabien Lemercier of Cineuropa commented, "Broken reveals itself as a highly precise clockwork, endowed with an irresistible charm, thanks in part to a charismatic young actress (Eloise Laurence) and outstanding work on editing and music.

"[18] Charles Gant of Variety opined, "Melding heightened drama with quirky, state-of-the-nation social realism, the pic aims to undercut epic plot contrivance with naturalistic perfs and a lyrical shooting style.

"[19] Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the film "fine but unnecessarily convoluted" and wrote, "At a certain point, Mr. Norris forsakes realism for theatricalized fantasy, and Broken ultimately loses its stylistic cohesion, if not its humanity.

"[21] Kevin Jagernauth of IndieWire commented, "If there's any silver lining to Broken, it's the performance of Laurence, who shines and delivers both laughs and heartache in the film.

"[22] Ben Kenigsberg of RogerEbert.com gave the film two and a half out of four stars and described it as "an absorbing coming-of-age drama that suddenly, pointlessly self-destructs with an onslaught of cheap ironies and overkill."

Kenigsberg also stated, "Imagine To Kill a Mockingbird with multiple trumped-up medical emergencies and a cynically manipulative finale, and you might have a sense of how Norris's film plays by the end: broken, smashed, destroyed.