FOR director Rufus Norris’ cinema debut, Mark O’Rowe has adapted Daniel Clay’s first novel, a modernisation of “To Kill A Mockingbird”.

Its title describes young lives, families and the hearts of almost every character as three families living in a North London cul de sac confront major issues.

In one house lives widowed solicitor Archie (Tim Roth) with a new partner and Archie’s diabetic daughter Skunk, of questioning mind and generous spirit.

In the middle house live the middle-class Buckleys, whose late-adolescent son Rick suffers a mild intellectual disability.

Beside the Buckleys lives the family from hell, the Oswalds, father Bob (Rory Kinnear) not coping well with single parenting three foul-mouthed, vicious, violent and undisciplined red-headed daughters.

Will Rick be charged with impregnating the middle Oswald girl? Will Skunk overcome her reticence to tell of seeing her having sex with a lad of whom Skunk was platonically fond? Will Skunk’s teacher (Cillian Murphy) with an unfulfilled crush on Archie’s partner be charged with assaulting one of the Osmond girls when he intervenes as the three of them beat up Skunk?

My main quibble about “Broken” is the coda going inside Skunk’s head as she lies in a coma. Immediately before that, an epiphany in Bob Oswald provides a logical ending point for a tough film that pulls no punches, takes no prisoners yet is agreeably disturbing because of its fresh style.

Such a modest quibble is at naught in the light of Eloise Laurence’s brilliant rendition of Skunk.

 At Palace Electric