THE EPIC FILM JOURNAL - DAY TWENTY FOUR

Film Number 28 – Breakdown

Directed by Jonathan Mostow the man behind Terminator 3, U-571 and Surrogates, I haven’t seen U-571 but I will admit to actually liking Terminator 3, say what you will about the film it was fun thrilling and awesome, not better than T2 but what film is ever going to be that good? Anyway back to the film Breakdown was made in 1997 and stars Kurt Russell in the title role. Russell and his wife are driving through the Arizona desert on the way to San Diego to start their new lives. They have to go through the vast and baron highways, on the way they have a confrontation with a local and then the car breaks down. They are stuck in the middle of nowhere and a passing truck driver comes by, Russell decides to send his wife with the driver to go to the nearest diner and get help. Whilst looking under the hood Russell discovers that the problem is just a loose wire, fixes it and drives to the diner. However when he gets there is no sign of his wife and no one has a clue what he is talking about. Russell begins looking gets into his car and eventually finds the trucker who also claims to have no recollection of seeing Kurt’s wife.

Now if this plot is already sounding a bit reminiscent of the abhorrent Flightplan have no fear the bullshit mystery tone is ended pretty damn quickly and we are left with an hour of pure adrenaline. It turns out the locals kidnap rich couples that pass through the town, get them to fork over all their money and then kill them. Russell makes one of the most heroic rescues of all time pushing boundaries and limits constantly. This really is a great little thriller, so smart and thorough all the way through, finally a well thought out suspenseful ride with barely any bullshit. It’s a simple premise executed neatly and effectively, for once the twist is not the payoff and it about the epic journey that our protagonist has to go on to save his wife.

Russell is the perfect lead for this film, we see him grow as the shit starts to get real, he begins scared and unassuming and turns into an ultimate badass along the way. It’s interesting to watch Russell play such a meek and nervous character; nearly every film that I have seen him in he plays the macho arrogant and heroic type, the guy that every one relies on. The character is thrilling to watch, it is very effective that we never know more than he does, all his reactions are in real time with our own.

We open the film with these huge epic shots of the barren landscape, very reminiscent of The
Hitcher that reinforces this lonely desolate desert. The camera work in the film is perfect; the action scenes all allow the appropriate amount of time to understand the peril and never relies on fast paced jump cuts to build a rhythm; for once the star isn’t the editing but rather the action that is taking place. The wonderful angles build up intrigue and the camera movement is always well thought-out so that the action has the most impact possible. The score brings Herrmann to mind instantly and helps instill this Hitchcock vibe that runs throughout.

I honestly have one major problem and in the general context of the film it is pretty insignificant but it was the only moment that pissed me off and took me out of the action. So the moment – Kurt Russell has risked his life climbing underneath a semi truck that takes him to the shed where his wife is being held. He very stealthily manages to climb on to the roof of the shed and looks through a small hole in the floor at the action that is going on below. He sees the bad guys take his wife’s body out and see if she is still alive, when she wakes up she manages to see Russell’s eye looking at her through this small unnoticeable hole, WHAT THE FUCK! He is at least twenty feet up in the air there is not a chance in hell that this disorientated women who has been held captive in a dark place is going to be able to spot an eyeball through a hole. This annoys me so much because up until this moment the film never tried to treat me like an imbecile; it’s a small gripe but really what the fuck where they thinking? They could release a director’s cut where this is the only thing that was changed and I would buy three copies of it.

Luckily the scene that follows is pretty much one of the best chase scenes that I have seen in a recent movie (if you can call thirteen years ago recent) it’s a scene involving Russell and his wife driving the giant semi being pursued by three cars, it really brings back great memories of The Road Warrior. Cars swerve, blow up, flip, crash and cause ultimate destruction.

In short this is a nice tight little thriller that lasts just about the right amount of time and is full of suspense from beginning to the end. If all the basic plotted suspense films were made to this caliber cinema would be a much better place. Never a dull moment and very engrossing, makes you wish there were more like it. No bullshit and lots of thrills.

7 and a half out of 10