Broken English: Celebrating Marianne Faithfull

In 1964, Marianne Faithfull became a household name at just 17 years old with the release of As Tears Go By, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Over the course of a six-decade career spanning more than 35 albums, she proved herself one of the most distinctive and resilient voices in British music. In spite of her impressive catalogue, Faithfull was often reduced by the press to a muse and her struggles with addiction frequently made tabloid headlines. Her 1979 album Broken English remains her most celebrated work, raw and uncompromising, featuring songs like Why D'Ya Do It and Sister Morphine. Faithfull passed away in January 2025, and this album now lends its title to a new documentary film that seeks to reassess her legacy on her own terms.

© Gered Mankowitz / Iconic Images

Directed by BAFTA nominees Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the duo behind the acclaimed Nick Cave portrait 20,000 Days on Earth, Broken English rejects the conventions of the music biopic. Rather than a biographical timeline, it unfolds through interviews, archival footage and soundscapes, with Tilda Swinton and George MacKay taking on the roles of investigators piecing together a life. Intimate contributions from fellow musicians paint a portrait of a woman far more complex than her tabloid reputation suggested. As Faithfull was too unwell to sing during filming, artists including Beth Orton and Courtney Love performed her songs in her place. A particularly poignant highlight is her last ever recorded performance, captured a year after shooting when she had recovered enough to record the closing song in the studio with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. Broken English received its world premiere at Venice Film Festival 2025 before screening at Sundance and the BFI London Film Festival, and has been met with widespread critical acclaim, described by reviewers as everything from "the perfect tribute" to "the answer to boring rock docs." 

© Marianne Faithfull and George Mackay by Joseph Lynn, Courtesy Broken English

The film’s UK launch takes place at one of London's most iconic arts venues. On Wednesday 18 March, the Barbican Hall hosts a special preview evening with an advance screening followed by a live concert. Given the company she's keeping, Faithfull would no doubt have approved: Jarvis Cocker, Anna Calvi, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton and Samantha Morton will perform some of her best-loved tracks, backed by a house band featuring Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey), Colin Greenwood (Radiohead), Ed Harcourt, Anna Phoebe and Adrian Utley (Portishead).

© Tilda Swinton by Amelia Troubridge, Courtesy Broken English

The Barbican event is sold out, but it is being livestreamed to cinemas across the country so that audiences nationwide can be part of the celebration. The London cinemas screening Broken English on Wednesday include: Curzon Aldgate, Everyman Barnet and Muswell Hill, Picturehouse Hackney, Finsbury Park, Greenwich and Central, Vue Finchley Road, Westfield and Islington, Olympic Studios, Arthouse Crouch End, Phoenix East Finchley, The Roof Gardens, Lumière Romford and Chiswick Cinema. The film goes on general release on Friday 20 March.

Words by Sofia Carreira-Wham