Director Mädchen Amick’s Fractured follows a troubled young woman named Hayley, played by Alissa Shay, who also wrote the script based on actual events in her life. Her therapist, Dr. Rose (Julia Ormond) has been trying to help her deal with trauma, but she is reluctant, and has a difficult time facing her demons. 

Hayley suffers frequent flashbacks, recalling nights creating graffiti art with her ex-boyfriend Jax (Johnny Ferro), intercut with images of her father’s death. She is tortured by these dreams. The trauma has left her unsure of herself, in constant psychic pain, and there’s a gap in her memory, though she works hard to recall what happened. 

Professionally, she’s a nurse who derives great satisfaction from caring for her patients, and particularly enjoys working with Papa Joe (Bruce Dern). Papa Joe is an avuncular mentor and father figure whom she loves, and they support each other. Life takes a dark turn when Jax reappears, mysteriously unable to explain his absence, and tries to come back into her life. 

“… an ex-boyfriend reappears and triggers traumatic memories …”

The theme of the film is muddled. Clearly Hayley is suffering severe PTSD after her father died, and she blames Jax for abandoning her when she needed him most, but that’s about all you get from the first half. 

Fractured focuses more on sense and ambience than on events in a logical sequence. Seeing the episode through Hayley’s eyes means little is explained, making it hard to follow. It would be a better experience for the viewer if we knew what the hell was going on. 

Filmically, the production is adequate, though at times plays more like a melodrama / soap opera than a feature film. This sense is driven home by the runtime of just over 60 minutes. The overall impression is like  a “very special episode” of an after-school program.

The film is powerful, but asks more questions than it answers.  Is Jax really back or is she hallucinating him? What happened that she can’t remember? Why did her father die? This protagonist is a textbook example of an unreliable narrator. When we ultimately do get concrete answers, the journey has been so frustrating a viewer may wonder if there is adequate return on the time invested. It’s never clear exactly what is real. At the end a title card explains more about the theme, and it would be a spoiler to reveal that here. 

It is always delightful to see Bruce Dern on screen. He’s still a powerful presence even at age 90. Mädchen Amick is best known for her role as Shelly Johnson in Twin Peaks, but now has grown into a talented director who has made a thoughtful, if challenging film in Fractured