Water in a Broken Glass

The best thing I can say about Water in a Broken Glass is you could do worse. If like me, you find yourself hundreds of films deep into Tubi’s LGBT section, you know at a certain point to stop expecting quality or sanity. Water in a Broken Glass has more polish and comprehensibility than some of these films. But other than that, I can’t really say this film deserves some sort of headlining position on the LGBT section.

Tonya is a passionate painter who can be a little unaware of things around her. This causes her to hit a handsome man named Malcolm with her car. This vehicular meet-cute leads to a romance between the two. Then, Tonya meets Satin, a bookstore owner who’s a fan of Tonya’s art. Satin awakens something in Tonya. Despite having a boyfriend, Tonya can’t help but explore what her feelings towards Satin are and perhaps whether they’re connected to Tonya’s focus on painting a young woman she knew as a teenager.

Yeah, it’s a bisexual love triangle film that also involves adultery. Groundbreaking stuff! In addition to not being an exactly new topic for a story, Water in a Broken Glass ties two different themes together in an inseparable way. Tonya is in the closet and denying her attraction to women to herself and those around her. However, the fact that her queer awakening is also an affair muddles this issue. It’s impossible to know if Tonya’s shame and feelings are in relation to her sexuality or are due to the adultery. Likewise, it’s hard to discern whether Tonya’s social circle responds negatively as a show of homophobic pressure or just a dislike of cheating.

At least there’s a level of polish to the filmmaking in Water in a Broken Glass. Though even this is grading on a curve. This looks better than stuff you’ll find deep in the annals of Tubi. In particular, Tubi hosts a lot of very independent African American cinema. Water in a Broken Glass got a distributor in Gravitas Ventures. So, it had some life beyond a free streaming service. This means that yes, it looks better than movies with even less distribution or studio support, congratulations.

Mostly, Water in a Broken Glass is dull and staggeringly unmemorable. There’s little to discuss in this review as either good or bad points. God knows there are worse sins a movie can have than being dull. But that factor doesn’t change the fact that there just isn’t much I can say that’s positive about Water in a Broken Glass. This is a familiar, possibly stereotypical story about bisexual infidelity. It is shot competently but not exceptionally. There are many better uses of your time. Even watching worse movies might be a better use of your time as those might at least lead to anecdotes. None of my social circle would care to hear about a movie this unremarkable and it’s not one I have an interest in talking about anyways.

Overall rating: 3.8/10

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