Breaking and Entering

Will Francis (Jude Law) opens a new architecture office in the transitioning London neighborhood Kings Cross. He and his girlfriend Liv (Robin Wright Penn) are growing distant and her autistic daughter Bea is one of the reasons. Meanwhile Amira (Juliette Binoche) is worried about her son Miro (Rafi Gavron) slipping into criminal activity. They're from Bosnia and his father was killed during the war. Miro is teamed up with his cousin Zoran (Ed Westwick) in the family crime business. They break into Will's office to steal computers. Miro steals the valuable miniatures for his own artistic work and is given Will's personal computer as a reward. They rob the place a second time and Will's partner Sandy (Martin Freeman) almost runs into them. Detective Bruno Fella (Ray Winstone) investigates. Will and Sandy decide to stake out their own offices and encounter prostitute Oana (Vera Farmiga) working in the area. One night, Will catches Miro and follows him all the way home. Instead of directing the cops to the thieve, he starts a relationship with his mother.

This is written and directed by Anthony Minghella. I have no specific problems with the directions. It is all about the writing. It is overloaded with class warfare melodrama. Everybody has their own dramas. There is just too much. That's not to say there is nothing worthwhile. Binoche is amazing in this. If this is a simple movie about her and her son, this could be an award worthy performance. Again there are so many characters who each have their own drama. Minghella could easily cut out Sandy and Oana. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less about Will and his family drama either. The complicated melodrama is simply too complicated.

How does one choose a film to view? Often it is the subject matter - here the fraught relationship between landscape architect Will and both his partner of 10 years Liv (who has an autistic daughter) and his new lover Amira (who has a thieving son). Sometimes it is star - in the case, Jude Law who has to choose between his American partner who has an obsessive approach to parenthood (Robin Wright Penn) and his Bosnian refugee girlfriend who works as a seamstress (Juliette Binoche). Other times it is the director - on this occasion, Anthony Minghella who writes as well as directs as he returns to the north London milieu in which he located "Truly, Madly, Deeply".

All of these are reasonable reasons for wanting to see "Breaking and Entering", but I confess that it was the supporting French actress Juliette Binoche that drew me to the work. I've been in love with her ever since her first English-language appearance in "The Unbearable Lightness Of Being" in 1988. She is simply beautiful in a bewitching manner, while always convincing as an actress, especially in vulnerable roles.

This is a multi-layered work in which the title can be taken in three ways: the obvious sense with the robberies perpetrated by Amira's son Miro; the deeper sense with Will's emotional assault on Amira; and still another sense as the middle-class Will and his like invade the traditionally working-class area of Kings Cross.

Those who need car chases or special effects in their movie experiences should avoid Mighella's parable, but those who value thoughtful and nuanced works will find much to admire here.

Tenderness is contagious. Looking for love and ways to give it? Are movies more to you than entertainment? Without dreams, ambition and inspiration, life is harder than it has to be. Who says only the very young are hungry for knowledge. This good movie has taught me something about foreign relations, love and families, crime and punishment, truth, imagination, diligence, experience...the list goes on. And the commentary by Minghella -a bonus offered in the DVD features- is simply a joy. See the movie, enjoy the collaborative efforts of several true artists and then learn a bit about what it all meant to this successful writer/director. Or just see it because it's entertaining.

Like most of Minghella's films, 'Breaking and Entering' is visually very appealing. It has a very polished look but at the same time it portrays London in a very stark realistic way. The nightlife and daytime on the streets is well captured. Production design and art direction are fantastic. Delhomme's cinematography is wild. The frame and compositions are outstanding. Whether it's a wild red fox running through the streets or the sequence with Will chasing Miro, they have been skillfully executed. The rich score flows smoothly with the story.

'Breaking and Entering' can be viewed as a study of characters and their complex relationships. In the centre of the story we are introduced to Will (excellently played by Law) who's a stranger to his own long-term girlfriend and her daughter as a result of which he seeks affection elsewhere, Liv (played by a wonderful Penn) who's a depressed mother and lover, Amira (a mind-blowing Binoche) who's a widow struggling to make a living for herself and her son and Miro (by confidant newcomer Gafron) who's a teenager trying to support his mother by making quick money. In addition there are several interesting characters such as Bruno (played by a vivacious Ray Winstone) the chatty good-hearted CID, Sandy (a funny Martin Freeman) the friend who might have found the 'love of his life' and Oana the philosophical prostitute (by a brilliant and barely recognizable Vera Farmiga). All the actors do a solid job of bringing them to life.

Minghella also provides a light insight into the lives of immigrants and he does a good job of suggesting, in a subtle way, how life for immigrants living in England is different from that of Brits. He also cleverly shows how the actions of one character leads to having an influence on the lives of another character. The turn in their lives happens from the moment Will sees Miro trying to break in. Eventually it is shown how the character realize what is broken in their lives and what needs to be repaired. A lot of symbolism is used quite effectively, like the wandering fox referring to Will's loneliness and search.

Above all, 'Breaking and Entering' is Minghella's film and it's quite a change from his previous films which were set in different times (unlike the modern time period in this movie). It is this man who skillfully puts it all together. Even though sadly this great director is no more, his films will stay and 'Breaking and Entering' is just the right swansong.

Minghella's 'Breaking and Entering' is an excellent modern tale set in London that revolves around the relationships of (1) a "green" company director, (2) his longtime Swedish girlfriend and (3) a Bosnian immigrant. Admittedly I am not a big fan of Jude Law (what self respecting individual is!?) but he plays his part so efficiently it was a masterstroke casting him in the lead role. His character is trite seemingly disinterested and frequently irritating but wholly believable and realistic. He may come across as a London male stereotype but as said Law is so convincing it does not matter it just adds to the realism. Wright Penn is fantastic as his troubled Swedish girlfriend. She has to look after her 10 year old daughter suffering from ADD while struggling to feel appreciated and loved by the vacuous Law. Wright Penn fits the bill ably. Her character may be not perfect, her role at the end of the film is somewhat lacking in self respect and is slightly humiliating and desperate following a very selfless action she takes in helping out someone else, but again the films strength is its realism not its heroics. But the star of the film is the magnificent Binoche. Her performance is easily the best female performance I've seen in a film... ever! She plays the suffering mother of a troubled youth and lost her husband years before. She becomes entangled in a relationship that she should avoid but, as she states herself, it has been years since anyone showed her affection so she is vulnerable to an advance. There are two scenes which exemplify Binoche as the best actress in the business; when she decides to take pictures of her sleeping lover against his knowledge, she tries to make it look like she enjoys it but immediately reviles with disgust and disgrace, and when she descends to desperate begging from her lover for his help. Both scenes are so powerful you will be moved very much. The film has a number of subplots and social commentaries (and a few funny moments: look out for the scene in which one character states "Latte's have been drunk" you'l understand when you see it) but I will not dwell on them as they are secondary to the excellent performances of its cast. An engrossing and enjoyable film, make it a priority to see it.