The trailer for the Marianne Faithfull docudrama Broken English has been exclusively shared with NME – check it out above.
The two-minute clip features archive clips of Faithfull, who died in January 2025 aged 78, alongside new footage of the singer discussing her life and career. Tilda Swinton and George MacKay also appear, playing fictional characters.
The former is Overseer Of The Ministry Of Not Forgetting, and makes Faithfull her research project, while the latter is her Record Keeper, who is tasked with cataloguing her career.
“People have forgotten how powerful they are,” Faithfull says in old footage to kick off the trailer, “They’ve forgotten the dignity of being human.”
The trailer then introduces the ministry. “Today we announce our first subject, Marianne Faithfull,” a voice declares, before Swinton appears and says, “A career spanning six decades, 30 albums, and yet to the world she’s still just Mick Jagger’s ex-girlfriend. Well, fuck that.”
MacKay then interviews Faithfull in his role as Record Keeper, listening to the singer as she discusses how she never saw herself as a “pop singer” and felt “split” between who she was and what “they” wanted her to be.
The pair also look at Faithfull’s challenges in the industry, touching on The Rolling Stones’ single ‘Sister Morphine’, which she wrote alongside Jagger and Keith Richards. “I knew I was writing something very special, but the woman who wrote it wasn’t allowed to sing it… It hurts,” she says, before candidly adding, “I tried to commit suicide.”
The film, named after Faithfull’s 1979 ‘comeback’ album, was directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, who approached the singer and began working on the project in 2021. It includes her final singing performance, alongside Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and features interviewees including John Dunbar, Edith Bowman, Sophie Fiennes and Barry Reynolds.
Also appearing are the likes of Courtney Love, Jehnny Beth, Suki Waterhouse and Beth Orton.
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 30 last year, before being screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. NME gave it a four-star review, describing it as “a beautiful celebration”.
“The undisputed highlights of the film are Faithfull’s various musical performances from across her career. Illustrating her many eras, we see her ace folk, rock, jazz, new wave and spoken word,” it read. “The best is saved for last though, as Nick Cave and Warren Ellis show up at the Ministry to aid a fiery Faithfull performance of ‘Misunderstanding’ from her 2018 album ‘Negative Capability’. Her signature smoky voice is as affecting as ever.
@nme Check out the first full trailer for upcoming Marianne Faithfull documentary #BrokenEnglish – featuring Tilda Swinton, George Mackay, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Courtney Love, Suki Waterhouse, Beth Orton, Jehnny Beth, Sophia Di Martino, Zawe Ashton, Calvin Demba, Derek Jacobi and the iconic singer herself. In cinemas from March 20 More info on NME.com 🔗
♬ Cute – Aurel Surya Lie
“Sadly, that would prove to be Marianne Faithfull’s last recorded performance. She died in January of this year at the age of 78 before the film could be completed. It’s a sombre note that ends an otherwise triumphant celebration of an all-time great.”
Broken English is in UK cinemas from March 20. A sold-out special preview and live concert takes place at the Barbican Centre in London on March 18 – featuring performances from Jarvis Cocker, Rufus Wainwright, Anna Calvi, Orton and more. It will be streamed live to cinemas nationwide.
There is also a live recording of podcast Soundtracking With Edith Bowman taking place at London’s Everyman Screen On The Green cinema on March 12 – including a discussion with Forsyth, Pollard and Orton.
