Directed with a sure hand by Theodore Collatos, Broken is set almost entirely in a sprawling Chicago apartment. The place has a raw, exposed look - brick walls, uncovered piping and electrical outlets, makeshift furniture. It's a physical manifestation of the film's central relationship, involving a young couple on the verge of a break-up.

The opening minutes are virtually wordless. We hear only the sound of a passing train and the clinking of ice cubes in a glass as the lovers, played by Todd Gordon and Stephanie Mace, try to shake off an early-morning hangover. She shoots him an accusatory look, and he avoids it. A cutaway reveals that he's having an affair with a dark-haired beauty (Beatrice Trossen); the girlfriend seems to know. The final scene shows what appears to be not make-up s*x but break-up s*x, with the girl standing stark naked before us, both physically and emotionally exposed.

Broken shares some attributes with what are sometimes referred to as "mumblecore" movies - low-budget indies about people in their twenties dealing with life after college. Like the best of mumblecore (Mutual Appreciation, Quiet City), Collatos' film features naturalistic dialogue between characters who engage in casual s*x and are afraid of commitment. The brass-heavy score lends the film an aching, stylish quality, as do the photographs that open and close the film, showing the lovers sleeping peacefully in the buff.