Breaking and Entering
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.99 You Save: $17.94 (90%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.45 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Breaking and Entering
Movie Review: Very Solid Film!!!
Summary: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this movie. As is the case with most movies these days, some of the content was somewhat improbable in the "real world". However, to sum it up, I would describe the movie as "entertainment that makes you think"!Movie Review: Breaking and entering
Summary: 4 Stars
what a great piece of work. Fab cast and story. Being a Brit I really enjoyed the locations in London a nice thrillerMovie Review: Minghella Looks at People Desperate to Connect in a Contemporary Melting Pot
Summary: 3 Stars
Over the past decade, Anthony Minghella has raised his profile as a prestige filmmaker whose luxuriant productions have made him more often than not, a darling of the critics and the heir apparent to David Lean. This 2007 film is a return to an earlier Minghella when he not only directed but wrote original screenplays on a more intimate scale, in this case, within the environs of London's decidedly working-class King's Cross area now in the midst of urban revitalization. This time out, he focuses on a group of disparate people in desperate need to connect, although none know quite how. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of a stellar cast and Benoît Delhomme's evocatively moody cinematography of the contemporary cityscape, the bigger problem is that Minghella falls short in connecting us to his characters in any compelling way. In fact, through the excessive use of plot contrivances masquerading as manifestations of liberal guilt, the film bears some resemblance to Paul Haggis' execrable Crash in illustrating unrealistic character arcs for the purposes of cathartic revelations and an altruistic ending.
The convoluted plot focuses on Will Francis, a workaholic architect who lives in Kensington but decides with his partner Sandy to relocate their thriving business to King's Cross. Will's dysfunctional home life is the most obvious reason he finds work an escape but at the price of distancing himself from his frigid, live-in girlfriend Liv and their autistic adolescent daughter Bea, a budding gymnast. Together for a decade, they have formed a solid family unit, but Bea's constant need for attention alienates him, so much so that he becomes obsessed with the burglaries that have recently occurred at his glass-covered office. Sometimes with the company of a brusque Russian hooker named Oana, Will camps out in his car at night in order to catch the thieves who stole his computers. He tracks Miro, one of the physically agile Bosnian teens responsible for the break-ins, but instead of going directly to the police, Will decides to insinuate himself into the life of Miro's seamstress mother Amira. They embark on an affair, and when motives are inevitably exposed, both Will and Amira make choices which upend their personal dilemmas.
What is oddly unmoving about the film is how all these plot turns happen with an almost matter-of-fact lack of urgency. The film remains stubbornly stillborn and somewhat patronizing within Minghella's grandiose ideas of personal redemption among the privileged when it comes to the immigrant underclasses. Minghella's favorite leading man, Jude Law, plays Will in his familiar and by now tiring cocksure style, but he can sometimes get underneath the character's innate narcissism to reveal a certain vulnerability. Juliette Binoche accurately captures Amira's angst, but she is weighed down by her character's constant sorrow, so much so that her scenes with Law have an almost clinical feel to them. The actors' contrasting acting styles torpedo the romanticism necessary to sustain such a far-fetched story. Playing the austere half-Swedish Liv, Robin Wright Penn seems to be channeling an Ingmar Bergman movie for inspiration.
The highlights are all on the sidelines - Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) as the pragmatic cop, Martin Freeman as the sardonic and smitten Sandy, and an underused Vera Farmiga (Down to the Bone, The Departed) smart, uninhibited and funny as Oana. The 2007 DVD has an informative and engaging commentary track from Minghella, who also provides the commentary on six deleted scenes. There is the obligatory making-of featurette, the twelve-minute, self-congratulatory "Lie. Cheat. Steal. Love. The Making of Breaking And Entering", as well as the original theatrical trailer. There are wonderful moments sprinkled throughout the film, but with the level of pedigree among the talents involved, this movie should have been so much more.
Movie Review: Spark of Romance
Summary: 3 Stars
Director Anthony Minghella won his Best Director Oscar 10 years ago for "The English Patient." Both of Jude Law's Oscar nominations came in Minghella collaborations, "Cold Mountain" (2004) & "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999). Juliette Binoche's Oscar came in 1996 for "The English Patient." So "Breaking & Entering" is a reunion of sorts.
"Breaking & Entering" is mostly successful. It does seem a bit long with the pacing tending to drag. However, that's the way I experienced "The English Patient"; so perhaps others perceive this as depth. Jude Law's character covers similar territory as "Closer," exploring the tedium of routine vs. the spark of romance. Law has this now familiar wide-eyed startled look like he has no clue what's happening around him. Perhaps he plays similar characters or perhaps it's schtick that is now over-used. But he does carry the film, riveting our interest and fueling audience speculation, even saddled with the character of Will Francis who seems to suffer from chronic indecisiveness.
Juliette Binoche as the relocated widow from Sarajevo does an excellent job as Amira. The scene on the hill where she begs Will to help her son is a powerful screen gem. We understand this woman, who is not too complex, and admire her dedication to her family. The racial/religious prejudice that she confronts with anger makes Amira all the more sympathetic.
Amira's son Miro is played by Rafi Gavron in his first screen role. It's an impressive debut as he hops from rooftop to rooftop and plays at being a gangster that nearly brings his family to ruin. While not overly deep, he does a good with what he's given.
Robin Wright Penn from Unbreakable & "Hurly Burly" seems too fragile as Liv. She is supposed to hold her family together & suffers from coldness & depression. It seems impossible that her character would be able to be so strong. One of the DVD deleted scenes shows her moody by the window that takes her in even more of a fragile direction. There doesn't seem to be a connection between Penn & Law that would make the film conclude as it does. It reads like actors going through the paces.
Other parts are well done. Vera Farmiga from "The Manchurian Candidate" & "The Departed" is excellent as Oana who walks the street. Her gyrating car dance is endearing & provocative. Ed Westwick who was in "Children of Men" plays Zoran, Miro's rooftop hopping buddy. He doesn't have a lot to do, but does it well. Poppy Rogers has been acting since she was six. As the autistic daughter Bea, she does a good job of portraying social maladjustment. Erika, the maid at the office, is given a nice cameo. Played by Caroline Chikezie from "Eragon" & "Aeon Flux," she makes the small part memorable with a total commitment to the character's world. Martin Freeman from "Shaun of the Dead" plays Will's partner Sandy in a routine performance.
B&E works when it does because of the star power of Law & Binoche. Minghella's screenplay is a character study of romance in the modern world. Scenic designs like the Kings Cross office and the rooftop chases perk up an otherwise plodding picture. The film is worth seeing for Law & Binoche. Enjoy!
Movie Review: Not enough artifice to be 'artfilm'; too much artifice to be 'mainstream.'
Summary: 3 Stars
In fact I think the script would be really wonderful as a play - where elegant constructedness is often an asset. Kudos to Minghella as a writer, as there are many (rather obvious but nevertheless enjoyable) points of interest - the complex, metaphor-filled point/counterpoint dynamic for every character (e.g. Liv/Amira on several levels, Will/Miro, Miro/Bea, Oana/fox, Bruno/Dragan, old/new King's Cross... it goes on...) and the ironic plot reversals. But in my opinion, all of this thoughtful artifice Minghella sets up doesn't quite work in a semi-mainstream film that I think means to stay within some bounds of naturalism - or more "natural" than, say, "Crash," which though mainstream clearly means to be at least in part about structure and form.
But it's more intimate (and less preachy) than "Crash." And the characters' inner struggles are really well-conveyed by the actors. Especially Law, doing his usual intense-sincerity-and-charisma thing but doing it well, and the newcomer Rafi Gavron as the emotionally-closed but physically expressive Miro. Binoche is also wonderfully alive, vulnerable, captivating. Wright Penn unfortunately I found a little weak, though maybe only because her intermittent accent (unlike Binoche's) distracted me; but she did look the part in all of its icy 'Scandinavian' depressive interiority. So, the movie is definitely worth watching for its mostly successful performances.
It might even be worth watching for its almost-successes - which I'm guessing as largely directorial (or producer) failures, having to do with the heavy-handed and misplaced artifice mentioned above. And also having to do with its not having a clear idea of what it means to be. Kinda modern Ibsen, but kinda parable. Kinda mainstream-slick (especially the cinematography/production), but kinda too raw for that. Kinda arthouse, but then again, though I don't know anything about its distribution, when Blockbuster has an exclusive on it, it's not exactly squarely in the arthouse, either.
I'm absolutely okay with genre-bending and complexity and even some unsubtle symbolism, if it's intentional and it all works, but I don't think it's either here. Maybe a result of trying to do/say too much and never quite managing to satisfy any one thing. But maybe I'm unfairly exacting too much from Minghella given his masterful "English Patient."