# Broke (2025 film)
**Broke** is a 2025 American contemporary western drama directed and written by Carlyle Eubank, following True Brandywine ([Wyatt Russell](https://www.edgepedia.org/wyatt-russell)), a bareback bronc rider (rodeo competitor riding a bucking horse without a saddle) clinging to a fading rodeo career who becomes trapped in a freak spring blizzard and must fight for survival while confronting the choices that brought him there.[1](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/broke) The film went straight to digital release without a theatrical run and later found a wider audience on Netflix.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broke-%282025%29) • [3](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-gripping-western-movie-you-probably-havent-seen-just-landed-on-netflix-and-im-still-thinking-about-it)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Carlyle Eubank, in his debut feature[4](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/) |
| Lead | Wyatt Russell as True Brandywine, a bareback bronc rider[1](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/broke) |
| Supporting cast | Dennis Quaid (George Brandywine), Mary McDonnell (Kathy Brandywine), Auden Thornton (Ali), Johnny Berchtold (Caleb Brandywine), Tom Skerritt (Cliff)[4](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/) |
| Release | Digital and DVD from May 6, 2025 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; no theatrical release[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broke-%282025%29) • [3](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-gripping-western-movie-you-probably-havent-seen-just-landed-on-netflix-and-im-still-thinking-about-it) |
| Rating | R for language and substance abuse (MPA, certified December 25, 2024)[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broke-%282025%29) |
| Running time | 99 minutes per the BBFC; other listings give 100 to 104 minutes[5](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/broke-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4otc1) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broke-%282025%29) |
| Reception | 91% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 11 reviews; 76% Popcornmeter[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broke_2025) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
True Brandywine is a taciturn, hardworking bronc rider on a remote Montana farm owned by his parents, George ([Dennis Quaid](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-quaid)) and Kathy ([Mary McDonnell](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-mcdonnell)), where he shares a room with his younger brother Caleb ([Johnny Berchtold](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-berchtold)).[4](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/) George, a former bronc rider himself, pushed his son hard in the sport and is disappointed with how his career has turned out; he wants True to enlist in the Marines instead.[4](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/)
True begins dating a nurse, Ali (Auden Thornton), who takes him to a doctor after he becomes addicted to painkillers; the doctor tells him his rodeo riding days are over or he will not live long.[4](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/) While working on the farm he is stranded in a wilderness field during a freak spring blizzard and must survive alone, with his life told through flashbacks as he reflects on how to change it.[4](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/) The British Board of Film Classification's content advice describes the survival sequence as a man lost in the wilderness staving off wolves, alongside rodeo injuries including brain injuries and chronic pain, and injury detail such as burns and frostbite.[5](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/broke-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4otc1)
## Production and release
**Credits.** The film was produced by [Peter Billingsley](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-billingsley), Terry Dougas, David Frigerio, Jack Hearst, Wyatt Russell, John Stalberg Jr., Victoria Vaughn, Vince Vaughn, and Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, with cinematography by Charlie Sarroff, editing by Glenn Garland, and music by [John Hancock](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-hancock).[4](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/) Production companies included Hercules Film Fund, Slow Burn, Wild West Picture Show Productions, and Rhea Films.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35048826/companycredits/)
**Distribution.** Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film digitally and on DVD on May 6, 2025, and it received no theatrical release, which reviewers noted limited its early visibility.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broke-%282025%29) • [3](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-gripping-western-movie-you-probably-havent-seen-just-landed-on-netflix-and-im-still-thinking-about-it) It was added to U.S. Netflix on August 21, 2025, and later became available to rent or buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango At Home.[3](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-gripping-western-movie-you-probably-havent-seen-just-landed-on-netflix-and-im-still-thinking-about-it) • [8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/broke-2025) The MPA rated it R for language and substance abuse.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broke-%282025%29)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 91% Tomatometer from 11 critic reviews and a 76% Popcornmeter score from more than 100 audience ratings.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broke_2025) Metacritic lists no Metascore, its summary requiring at least four critic reviews, though its single listed review, from Collider, scored it 70 and praised Eubank's "tenderness for its characters".[9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broke/)
**Critical views.** Reviewers consistently singled out Russell's lead performance. Sean Chandler described the film as "a blend of To Build a Fire and a sad country song" and called it a quiet, emotional western drama; Sarah Manvel wrote that it is "in every way Mr. Russell's movie".[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broke_2025) Dennis Schwartz, reviewing it at grade B-, called it an intimate, melancholy debut that is atmospheric and well acted but hampered by clunky dialogue.[4](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/) Audience responses on Rotten Tomatoes were more divided, with several criticizing the fractured timeline editing while others praised its emotional depth.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broke_2025)
Tom's Guide, covering the Netflix arrival, argued the film shows Russell's ability to carry a movie on his own and called it a quietly impactful story of resilience when life does not go according to plan.[3](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-gripping-western-movie-you-probably-havent-seen-just-landed-on-netflix-and-im-still-thinking-about-it) Western Horseman's Bill Reynolds placed the film in the wave of western-themed projects that followed the television series *Yellowstone*, reading it as a film about young people in the American West facing the question of what comes next when their plans fail.[10](https://westernhorseman.com/blogs/out-west/broke/)
## References
1. [BROKE, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/broke)
2. [Broke (2025), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broke-%282025%29)
3. [This gripping western movie you (probably) haven't seen just landed on Netflix, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/this-gripping-western-movie-you-probably-havent-seen-just-landed-on-netflix-and-im-still-thinking-about-it)
4. [BROKE (2025) B-, Dennis Schwartz Reviews](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/broke-2025-b/)
5. [Broke, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/broke-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4otc1)
6. [Broke (2025), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broke_2025)
7. [Broke (2025) company credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35048826/companycredits/)
8. [Broke streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/broke-2025)
9. [Broke Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broke/)
10. [BROKE, Western Horseman](https://westernhorseman.com/blogs/out-west/broke/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Westerns, 1980 onward*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license