Breaking and Entering (2006)

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writer:

Anthony Minghella (writer)

Release Date:

26 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Love is no ordinary crime.

Plot:

A Landscape Architect's dealings with a young thief cause him to re-evaluate his life.

Plot Keywords:

Parkour | Perfume | Single Mother | Stakeout | Architect

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Jude Law	...	Will Francis
Robin Wright Penn	...	Liv
Martin Freeman	...	Sandy Hoffman
Rafi Gavron	...	Mirza 'Miro' Simic
Ed Westwick	...	Zoran
Serge Soric	...	Courier
Velibor Topic	...	Vlado
Rad Lazar	...	Dragan
Ting Ting Hu	...	Wei Ping
Romi Aboulafia	...	Orit
Poppy Rogers	...	Bea
Eleanor Matsuura	...	Ruby
Anna Chancellor	...	Kate
Juliette Binoche	...	Amira Simic
Lisa Kay	...	PC Primus

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and language.

Runtime:

Canada:120 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:120 min | Argentina:120 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:12 | Singapore:M18 | USA:R | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The techniques used to burgle Green Effect come from parkour, a physical discipline and recreational activity of French origin whose practitioners are called traceurs. Sometimes confused with free running, a related discipline derived from parkour, the art, as it is called by some practitioners, has gained in popularity in urban areas, particularly in Europe, during the early 21st century.

Quotes:

Will Francis: Hi. I'm sorry.
Liv: You smell of perfume.
Will Francis: Well, I don't know how I do.
Liv: Nor do I.
Will Francis: I love you.
Liv: Is that an answer?
Will Francis: It's the truth. I feel as if I'm tapping on a window. You're somewhere behind the glass but you can't hear me. Even when you're angry, like now, it's like someone a long long way away is angry with me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Daily Show: (2007-01-18)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Knowing Me Knowing You

A strong modern British movie

There's a lot to recommend this film. Principally there is the very fine (another very fine) performance from Jude Law. His versatile and grown-up performance glues the ensemble and the story strands together. The support is top notch: Juliette Binoche is the pick of the rest, thrown into chaos by her thieving son and Law's flaky contemporary liberal; around her are a convincing neurotic (Penn), compassionate urban realists (Farmiga and Winstone) and Martin Freeman playing an almost cameo-like doppelgänger to Law. And I don't know where they found Rafi Gavron who is brilliant as a first timer amongst such company.

The film has a couple of issues - it's almost pathologically organised with one-too-many similar themes investigated and resolved over its arc. The ending ties everything up too neatly.

Despite this the film manages to break the bonds of domestic or TV drama that so easily dog other British productions. London is definitely a character though. There are carefully chosen landmarks just off the tourist radar; even the estate where the immigrant family live is not a council dive but a flawed marvel of late 1960s architecture (The Rowley Way Estate in Camden).

A super film that, from its performances to its look, dispenses with preconception to examine the way modern individuals deal with one another in isolation. 8/10