Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Broken Hearts Gallery Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 20, 2020

The Broken Hearts Gallery supposes that there's an interest in other people's pains, that there's some allure to a collection of trinkets that represent a feeling rather than a physical object, items to which humans cling to remind them of their pasts, perhaps because they want to learn from previous mistakes or maybe because they just can't let go and move on. It's a peculiar posit but one that serves as an adequate background for Writer/Director Natalie Krinsky's RomCom about a couple of lonely and broken hearts who find love amongst the ruins of other people's failed relationships.

Lucy Gulliver (Geraldine Viswanathan) seems to have her life in order. Her career is on the upswing, she surrounds herself with good friends, and she's dating the dashing Max Vora (Utkarsh Ambudkar). She's also a sentimental sort who clings to the relics of her past, who surrounds herself with the trinkets reminding her of failed relationships and broken dreams. Things couldn't be better until they completely fall apart. Max dumps her one night, leaving her dazed and distraught. But fortune smiles on her when she mistakes a parked car for a share ride. Its driver, Nick, (Dacre Montgomery), chooses to take her home rather than dump her out of his backseat. The two form an unlikely bond and eventually pair together to open a gallery catering to the memories of the past: not important, valuable relics but those that hearken back to hurt. As the idea gains momentum and as Nick and Lucy build their relationship from mutual fondness to something more, their respective pasts threaten to tear apart everything they have built, both personally and professionally.

The film efforts to build a classic Romantic Comedy narrative, one familiar to fans who binge watch Hallmark or the best of the decade from the 90s while casting millennials and interweaving that generation's peculiarities and approaches to life and love. It mostly works, though the story is somewhat flat and predictable. Fortunately there's enough charm and core narrative flow to prop it up in spite of its shortcomings. There's never any question how Nick and Lucy's relationship will evolve. Even as they're just beginning to mingle and feel one another out, the audience detects that spark and senses that air of inevitability that they will soon find themselves in love. But with that comes the awareness that their relationship will meet some obstacles along the way, both in the nitty-gritty workings of opening the gallery and the obligatory relational crisis that threatens to make them permanent exhibits in their own collection.

The saving grace, then, is in how well the actors convey the genuineness of their emotions and interactions with one another, be those on the relationship's ground level, on the rise, or tumbling towards destruction. Fortunately, the tandem of Dacre Montgomery and Geraldine Viswanathan engender enough of an endearing coupled personality to keep the film afloat through the cliché that encircles them. Even if the crude character arcs feel more rote than real, there's an unmistakable charm to their work, particularly as they share the screen, which does occupy much of the film's runtime. The pair build an agreeable bond rooted in pain but putting them on a path to personal and professional success. Even as the characters experience the ebbs and flows of the predictably scripted relational roller coaster, their authenticity together and as individuals only bolsters the film, even at its most genre generic.

The Broken Hearts Gallery Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Broken Hearts Gallery opens on Blu-ray with a proficient 1080p transfer. The digital photography is largely inerrant, its only real drawback being a bit of source noise which is not just evident in lower light, as is the usual place to find it, but also in some well-lit interiors as well, including a coffee shop around the six-minute mark. The picture is otherwise in good shape and without serious source or encode faults. Details are proficient in sharpness and reliability, revealing well-rounded facial and clothing details with a level of intimacy that is as-expected of a commonplace 1080p picture. The various locales around the film, from apartments to the gallery and perhaps most notably and interestingly various scenes taking place out on city streets, all allow for exploring the rich world textures throughout the film, most all of them tactile and firm, never soft or blurry. Color output is likewise agreeable. Contrast is neutral and the image finds its visual signature in the variety of tones -- clothes, neon, and the like -- that appear in practically every shot. All of them are pleasantly saturated and none want for greater contrast or more intensity. Additionally, the picture has both deep and detailed black levels and flattering, natural skin tones on display. The image certainly doesn't stand out or make an impact, but it's rock solid at its foundation and does everything very well within the film's visual structure.

The Broken Hearts Gallery Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Broken Hearts Gallery's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is not of museum quality but, much like the video, it's very proficient with the somewhat more limited scope material that defines it. The film is dialogue heavy and there are no faults to report with clarity, placement, or prioritization. Music largely remains up front, whether some of the more maudlin, mood-setting songs or the more energetic Pop numbers, the latter of which plays with impressive low end support. Musical clarity is strong, too, as the track opens it up and offers crisp, precise instrumental and lyric definition. Atmosphere is perhaps the most interesting component, notably out on city streets where listeners are treated to a perfectly engineered barrage of subtle backgrounds, including traffic, sirens, and pedestrians gently and realistically filling in the background space. The track is in no way revelatory but it is in good command of all of its components.

The Broken Hearts Gallery Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Broken Hearts Gallery contains a gag reel and and a pair of character-focused vignettes. No DVD copy is included but Sony has bundled a Movies Anywhere digital copy code. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:32): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• "Lucy" Vignette (1080p 0:49): A lightning quick piece that is more film clips than interview snippets.
• "Nick" Vignette (1080p, 0:48): Ditto the supplement above.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

The Broken Hearts Gallery Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Broken Hearts Gallery certainly won't win any awards for scripted creativity, but it's kept afloat but charming wit and a couple of spot-on lead performances. The movie still stumbles through a somewhat weak plot but genre fans should find it to be the proverbial cinema comfort food snack. Sony's Blu-ray is short in special features but does deliver more than adequate video and audio. Recommended for RomCom fans.