# Broken Horses
**Broken Horses** is a 2015 English-language crime thriller directed, produced, and co-written by the Indian filmmaker [Vidhu Vinod Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/vidhu-vinod-chopra), set against gang wars near the US–Mexico border and loosely reworking his own 1989 Hindi film *Parinda*.[1](https://scroll.in/article/719308/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-horses/critic-reviews/) It was Chopra's first feature in English and his first made in Hollywood, starring [Anton Yelchin](https://www.edgepedia.org/anton-yelchin), Chris Marquette, and [Vincent D'Onofrio](https://www.edgepedia.org/vincent-donofrio).[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70775-BROKEN-HORSES) • [4](https://mande.net/btl/crafts/vidhu-vinod-chopra-wrangles-broken-horses) Released in a limited theatrical run on April 10, 2015, the film drew largely negative reviews and earned little at the box office against a $15 million production budget.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses) • [6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Horses)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Vidhu Vinod Chopra (director, producer, co-writer with Abhijat Joshi, story credit)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70775-BROKEN-HORSES) |
| Source | A reworking of Chopra's 1989 Hindi gangster film *Parinda*, transposed from Mumbai to the US–Mexico border[1](https://scroll.in/article/719308/) • [7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/broken-horses-review-vidhu-vinod-chopras-parinda-has-returned-after-25-years/lite/) |
| Principal cast | Anton Yelchin (Jacob "Jakey" Heckum), Chris Marquette (Buddy Heckum), Vincent D'Onofrio (Julius Hench), María Valverde (Vittoria), Thomas Jane (Gabriel Heckum), Sean Patrick Flanery (Ignacio)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70775-BROKEN-HORSES) |
| Release | Limited US theatrical release April 10, 2015; running time 101 minutes; rated R for violence and language[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses) • [6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Horses) |
| Critical reception | 26% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (23 reviews); Metascore 32 on Metacritic, labeled "Generally Unfavorable"[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-horses/critic-reviews/) |
| Budget and earnings | $15,000,000 production budget; The Numbers records $3,471 in international ticket sales (Australia), while Box Office Mojo records $30,288 from the United Arab Emirates[6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Horses) • [8](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2503954/) |
| Music and photography | Score by John Debney; cinematography by Tom Stern[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70775-BROKEN-HORSES) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Jacob "Jakey" Heckum, a violinist preparing for his wedding in New York, returns to his hometown near the US–Mexico border after eight years away. His older brother Buddy, orphaned with him when their father, a border-town sheriff played by [Thomas Jane](https://www.edgepedia.org/thomas-jane), was shot, has been taken in by the local crime boss Julius Hench (Vincent D'Onofrio), who has exploited Buddy's simple-mindedness and turned him into a hit man. Jacob discovers that the only way to save his brother is to take down the gang from within.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-broken-horses-movie-review-20150410-story.html) • [10](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/brokenhorses) In the Los Angeles Times's summary of the dynamic, Julius and Jacob take turns manipulating Buddy, one to keep a loyal soldier and the other to preserve their lives.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-broken-horses-movie-review-20150410-story.html)
## Production
**A long gestation.** Chopra has said the screenplay took about four years to write, with shooting completed in 33 days; he and co-writer Abhijat Joshi sent drafts to the novelist Vikram Chandra, Chopra's brother-in-law, who criticized them heavily. Chopra traveled for six months through Arizona, California, and along the Mexico border, and did much of the writing in Lordsburg, New Mexico.[11](https://m.rediff.com/amp/movies/report/vidhu-vinod-chopra-james-cameron-raved-about-my-film/20150325.htm) The production filmed around the Los Angeles area with the aid of a California tax rebate, and Chopra assembled a crew of veteran American craftspeople, including cinematographer Tom Stern (*The Hunger Games*), production designer Toby Corbett, and costume designer Mary E. Vogt.[4](https://mande.net/btl/crafts/vidhu-vinod-chopra-wrangles-broken-horses) • [12](https://www.screendaily.com/chopras-broken-horses-starts-shooting-with-donofrio-/5049204.article) Shooting began in Los Angeles in November 2012 with D'Onofrio, Yelchin, and Marquette heading the cast.[12](https://www.screendaily.com/chopras-broken-horses-starts-shooting-with-donofrio-/5049204.article) [Post-production](https://www.edgepedia.org/post-production), including color grading, visual effects integration, and DCP mastering, was handled by Modern VideoFilm in Burbank, with most visual effects produced at Prana Studios in Mumbai.[13](https://mande.net/btl/crafts/post-production/modern-videofilm-completes-western-thriller-broken-horses/)
**Casting history.** In a later interview, Chopra said he had initially cast [Nicolas Cage](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-cage) for a role, but the financing did not come through; Paul Dena was then considered, and [Jeremy Renner](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeremy-renner) was signed to play Buddy before his breakout made him unavailable to Chopra, who said he cannot work with stars. He named *Broken Horses* the film he regrets most, saying "My arrogance destroyed that film because I cast it wrongly."[14](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/vidhu-vinod-chopra-calls-broken-horses-the-film-he-regrets-the-most-nicholas-cage-8997774/)
## Relationship to Parinda
The narrative arc follows *Parinda* (1989), in which [Jackie Shroff](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-shroff) played the henchman of [Nana Patekar](https://www.edgepedia.org/nana-patekar)'s underworld don and [Anil Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/anil-kapoor) played the earnest younger brother who joins the gang to destroy it from within.[1](https://scroll.in/article/719308/) Chopra insisted the new film turned out very different: the American brother, unlike the Indian original's character, would not die for his brother, so the macho hired mercenary became the childlike, mentally slow Buddy, and the violence, over-the-top in *Parinda*, was made more real.[15](https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/in-focus-the-flight-of-pigeons/articleshow/46829474.html) Indian critics compared the two directly: The Hindu called *Broken Horses* "Parinda with all the emotion leached out," and Rediff.com wrote that for admirers of the original it "pales in comparison."[16](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses/reviews?type=all-critics)
## Reception
Critics were largely negative. The Tomatometer stood at 26 percent from 23 reviews, with 6 fresh and 17 rotten, while audiences gave it 44 percent on the Popcornmeter.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses) Metacritic's Metascore was 32, with 7 of 9 critic reviews negative.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-horses/critic-reviews/) Frank Scheck in [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) called it a "weirdly baroque modern-day Western" that is "far too absurd to take seriously" despite imaginative visual flourishes.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses) [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club)'s [Mike D](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-d)'Angelo wrote that it "plays like the equivalent of a Hindi novel that's been run through Google Translate."[2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-horses/critic-reviews/) Martin Tsai's Los Angeles Times review was more sympathetic, reading the film as a mirror held up to Hollywood's vigilante narrative, and noted that the western "feels timeless" with performances and production design echoing golden-age Hollywood.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-broken-horses-movie-review-20150410-story.html) Reviewers who found merit pointed to the suspense scenes and Tom Stern's moody chiaroscuro cinematography.[16](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses/reviews?type=all-critics)
## Box office and distribution
The film's commercial performance was poor by every available measure. The Numbers lists a $15,000,000 production budget against $3,471 in reported international ticket sales (Australia), with an estimated $146,477 in DVD sales after the September 1, 2015 home-video release by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Horses) Box Office Mojo instead records $30,288 in worldwide gross, all from the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates), where it opened on April 9, 2015.[8](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2503954/) Bollywood Hungama's India box-office table shows no recorded collections and labels the film a flop.[17](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/broken-horses/box-office/)
Distribution was troubled before release. Emails published by [WikiLeaks](https://www.edgepedia.org/wikileaks) show Sony Pictures executives discussing a US-wide deal; Steven Bersch, president of Sony Pictures Worldwide Distribution, wrote that regional offices, including the UK and India, had passed, and that the studio had told IM Global/Reliance the film was "almost certainly a video/TV play (not theatrical for us)." Sony Pictures Classics eventually picked up the distribution rights.[18](https://scroll.in/article/723620/wikileaks-what-sony-pictures-thought-of-the-lunchbox-and-vinod-chopras-broken-horses%20)
## Significance
The film is routinely described as the first Hollywood film written, produced, and directed by an Indian filmmaker.[19](https://filmbazaarindia.com/media/2523/knowledge_series_2014_catalogue.pdf) Chopra, already known for directing *Parinda* and *1942: A Love Story* and for producing *3 Idiots* and *PK*, said he wanted to prove that a Bollywood filmmaker could make a Hollywood film, despite not speaking English until age 16.[20](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/vidhu-vinod-chopra-an-indian-proving-his-point-in-hollywood-ians-interview-115040300626_1.html) A promotional trailer featuring an endorsement from James Cameron appeared on the studio's official channel.[21](https://vinodchoprafilms.com/movies/broken-horses/) In retrospect Chopra judged the film a failure of his own making, telling an interviewer in 2024 that it was the project he regretted most.[14](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/vidhu-vinod-chopra-calls-broken-horses-the-film-he-regrets-the-most-nicholas-cage-8997774/)
## References
1. [Nandini Ramnath, "Film review: 'Broken Horses' is Parinda's ghost mystifyingly relocated on the US-Mexico border," Scroll.in, April 10, 2015](https://scroll.in/article/719308/)
2. [Broken Horses critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-horses/critic-reviews/)
3. [Broken Horses (2015), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70775-BROKEN-HORSES)
4. [Mary Ann Skweres, "Vidhu Vinod Chopra Wrangles Broken Horses," M&E, April 15, 2015](https://mande.net/btl/crafts/vidhu-vinod-chopra-wrangles-broken-horses)
5. [Broken Horses, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses)
6. [Broken Horses (2015), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Horses)
7. [Shalini Langer, "'Broken Horses' review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Parinda' has returned after 25 years," The Indian Express, April 10, 2015](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/broken-horses-review-vidhu-vinod-chopras-parinda-has-returned-after-25-years/lite/)
8. [Broken Horses (2015), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2503954/)
9. [Martin Tsai, "Review: 'Broken Horses' saddles up a classic western about vigilantism," Los Angeles Times, April 9, 2015](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-broken-horses-movie-review-20150410-story.html)
10. [Broken Horses, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/brokenhorses)
11. ["Vidhu Vinod Chopra: 'James Cameron raved about my film'," Rediff.com, March 25, 2015](https://m.rediff.com/amp/movies/report/vidhu-vinod-chopra-james-cameron-raved-about-my-film/20150325.htm)
12. [Liz Shackleton, "Chopra's Broken Horses starts shooting with D'Onofrio," Screen Daily, November 21, 2012](https://www.screendaily.com/chopras-broken-horses-starts-shooting-with-donofrio-/5049204.article)
13. [Scott Lehane, "Modern VideoFilm Completes Western Thriller Broken Horses," M&E, April 29, 2015](https://mande.net/btl/crafts/post-production/modern-videofilm-completes-western-thriller-broken-horses/)
14. ["Vidhu Vinod Chopra calls Broken Horses the film he regrets the most: 'My arrogance destroyed that film'," The Indian Express, 2024](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/vidhu-vinod-chopra-calls-broken-horses-the-film-he-regrets-the-most-nicholas-cage-8997774/)
15. [Roshmila Bhattacharya, "In focus: The flight of pigeons," Mumbai Mirror, April 7, 2015](https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/in-focus-the-flight-of-pigeons/articleshow/46829474.html)
16. [Broken Horses, All Critics Reviews, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_horses/reviews?type=all-critics)
17. [Broken Horses Box Office, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/broken-horses/box-office/)
18. ["Wikileaks: What Sony Pictures thought of 'The Lunchbox' and Vinod Chopra's 'Broken Horses'," Scroll.in, 2015](https://scroll.in/article/723620/wikileaks-what-sony-pictures-thought-of-the-lunchbox-and-vinod-chopras-broken-horses%20)
19. [Film Bazaar Knowledge Series 2014 catalogue](https://filmbazaarindia.com/media/2523/knowledge_series_2014_catalogue.pdf)
20. ["Vidhu Vinod Chopra: An Indian 'proving his point' in Hollywood (IANS Interview)," Business Standard, April 3, 2015](https://www.business-standard.com/amp/article/news-ians/vidhu-vinod-chopra-an-indian-proving-his-point-in-hollywood-ians-interview-115040300626_1.html)
21. [Broken Horses, VC Films official site](https://vinodchoprafilms.com/movies/broken-horses/)
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