I usually open these reviews with some personal anecdote or a trivia note about the movie or a member of the cast. And the new thriller Breaking has many options. Can I talk about lead actor John Boyega and how his career may be working out in the wake of his criticism on Star Wars and his involvement with that franchise? Maybe I should say something about actor Michael K Williams’s unexpected death and his presence here. I could even say something about how this is the second new release in a row I’ve seen with actress Nicole Beharie in a prominent supporting role.
Or I could just briefly say all of those things up front and get them over with.
Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega) is having problems. A former Marine, he’s nearly homeless and broke, and the problem seems to be due to something at the Veterans Administration. A bit desperate to provide for himself and the young daughter living with his ex-wife, he goes to a local bank with a backpack and a plan. He informs a teller (Selenis Leyva) that he has a bomb and he wants her to call 911. Branch manager Estel (Beharie) notices something is up and starts to hustle people out of the bank. Brian likewise notices and even approves until the only people left in the bank are Brian, the teller, and Estel. From there, Brian starts closing blinds, yanking wires out of cameras, demanding more attention from law enforcement, and even calling a local TV station.
Gradually, the movie reveals what’s going on. I won’t say too much, but the movie spends most of its time focused on Brian, but likewise looks into some of the people he had to deal with. Beyond the two bank employees, there’s a police negotiator (Williams) that, like Brian, is a former Marine. A TV news producer (Connie Britton) takes his call and does some investigation on her own, and through it all, Brian believes, in large part because of his race, that he won’t be getting out of the bank alive. Is he right? And what does he want? In short, he wants what he’s owed from the people that owe him, no more and no less.
Based as the movie is on a true story, it probably isn’t a surprise that the VA isn’t doing right by a veteran, and one wounded in the line of duty at that. To the movie’s credit, it only gradually reveals what’s going on, and it’s even smart in how it shows Brian’s financial situation. Early in the movie, he’s seen putting out a half-smoked cigarette and returning it to his nearly empty carton. He has to walk to his temporary home along a busy highway, and the manager at his hotel asks him when he’ll be paying up. And while the movie isn’t what I would call subtle in many ways, it does have some great supporting performances from the cast, particularly Williams as maybe the one cop outside that’s legitimately trying to help.
But this is really Boyega’s movie, and he makes the most of it. His Brian is charismatic, troubled, and believable at least to the audience that he isn’t really trying to hurt anyone. It’s not too surprising why he seems to charm many of the people he deals with even if they suspect he might detonate his bomb at any moment. He’s a man at the end of his rope, but he’s not an idiot or a fool even if his plan seems so half-assed. Little moments, like shielding the teller when it sounds like shots are fired into the bank, give out information before he spells it out, but really, the movie is a showcase for Boyega’s performance, and this movie would not have anywhere near the strength that it does with a lesser actor in the role. Maybe various Star Wars sequels didn’t do right for the actor, but Breaking certainly does.
Grade: B+
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