If you’re a Western fan or are just a loyal viewer of all those Yellowstone shows, you probably missed watching the 2025 film Broke when it debuted on Video on Demand earlier this year. That’s OK because Netflix just started streaming it in August.
Carlyle Eubank wrote and directed Broke, which features Wyatt Russell as a man whose dream of riding broncos at rodeos is rapidly getting away from him.
Since this is a modern Western, there aren’t any shootouts or traditional action. Instead, this story is driven by a family drama and an unexpected crisis that the main character goes through. Hmm, doesn’t that sound like a certain Kevin Costner show?
Now that the film is trending in Netflix’s top 10, Watch with Us is sharing the three reasons you need to watch Broke.
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Wyatt Russell Gives a Gripping Performance
Broke places the entire movie on Russell’s shoulders, and he appears in almost every scene. It’s a sign of Russell’s progression as an actor that he rises to the challenge and displays a compelling presence to the audience. Russell plays True Brandywine, a man whose entire identity appears to be centered on his ability to ride a bucking horse at rodeos. True isn’t the best rider, and his clearly diminished physical skills imply that he can’t chase this dream much longer.
Dennis Quaid costars as True’s father, George Brandywine, and there’s a lot of dramatic tension between them despite the apparent love as well. George can’t help himself when it comes to trying to override True’s life choices, and that has unforeseen consequences for True’s younger brother, Caleb (Johnny Berchtold). This family may fall apart despite the best of intentions from the father and his sons
‘Broke’ Is a Survival Drama At Heart
The Brandywine family drama takes up a large part of the film, but the story really comes to life when Broke follows True into a harrowing tale of survival in the wilderness. The film sets up a mystery in the opening minutes by revealing that True has been injured and knocked out in dangerously cold weather. Broke isn’t in any hurry to reveal how True ended up in that position, but things get progressively worse for him.
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This is another area of the film where Russell shines, because he doesn’t have anyone to play off of except himself. He very believably portrays True’s desperation and disorientation, as well as some potentially life-changing injuries he suffers. Those wilderness scenes are kind of like The Revenant without the bear attack. True does have to worry about a particular animal in the wild, but the elements are his real enemy.
The Story Balances Despair With Hope
One of the big questions hanging over the second half of the story is whether True will live through his ordeal. The film also makes the audience wonder what kind of life will be waiting for him if he does make it. There are moments when the movie seems destined to go down the darkest road available. That would have been a bleak alternative, but it doesn’t ultimately go in that direction.
Instead, Broke offers True some small measures of hope throughout the film, particularly with his romance with Ali (Auden Thornton). She’s the one person who fully believes in True despite his shortcomings. Ali would have been fully justified if she had given up on True, but she never does.
Late in the movie, Tom Skerritt has an extended cameo as Cliff, a man who extends extraordinary kindness to True. Cliff doesn’t know True at all, and yet the example he sets for him is life-affirming and empowering. But ultimately, the only one who can save True is himself.
Broke is now streaming on Netflix.
