If I said that 'Broken' starred Tim Roth and featured a group of neighbouring families, each facing their own challenges, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Roth (alumnus most famously of 'Reservoir Dogs') was probably the natural choice for the hot-tempered Oswald, demonised father to unruly daughters.
Tim Roth plays Archie in the award-winning 'Broken' with Eloise Laurence as his daughter
But instead, it was the role of more passive Archie, lawyer and single father, which drew him...
"They had a little peek at me for Oswald," explains Roth, in acknowledgement of this, "but I kept persisting with this idea of playing Archie, and when the actor who was going to play him fell out... luckily for me... I had to deliver.
"He doesn't know he's in the middle of all this, he's a guy who goes to work, loves his kids, he's a man of sound integrity, he's a good human being. I fell in love with him."
At the core of 'Broken', which won this year's British Independent Film Award for Best Film, is the relationship between Archie and his daughter Skunk, played by first-timer Eloise Laurence (with the role of Oswald instead going to the increasingly busy all-rounder Rory Kinnear).
Broken was a triumph at this year's British Independent Film Awards
Roth is full of praise for his young co-star's debut - - "there's nothing first-time about that performance" - but sweetly modest about the prospect of surprising fans of his usual, more rabid-eyed turns...
"I hope I can surprise. You really try to get that right. We needed to give the audience something to lose, someone to try to hold onto."
This isn't normally the duty that falls to Roth. He nods. "It was a very interesting experience. The core of the film is Eloise, the audience needed to see what was worth fighting for, before the devastation. Without it being sugary or saccharine, it was a delicate balance, but we got there."
'Broken' is available on DVD now. Watch the trailer below...