Breaking and Entering
With “Breaking and Entering,” Anthony Minghella proves to be a writer-director with grand ideas in his head but no fire in his belly. In the icy R-rated drama, starring Jude Law (“Alfie”), Juliette Binoche (“Chocolat”), Robin Wright Penn (“The Princess Bride”) and Vera Farmiga (“The Departed”), the aftermath of a robbery connects the lives of some very different people in the distressed King’s Cross section of North London and causes a culture clash between them.
The story follows a handsome and caring architect, Will Francis (Law), involved in a gentrification project that has him opening a state-of-the-art office in a poor area. He’s also maintaining a 10-year-year relationship with Liv (Penn), a woman whose life is totally dominated by her relentlessly active 13-year-old autistic daughter.
Francis finds his tidy world rocked after a 15-year-old boy robs his building and steals a laptop computer containing valuable plans and personal information.
The teen, Francis learns, is the son of a Bosnian refugee, Amira (Binoche). The immigrant mends clothes to earn money and captures the interest of the repressed architect, who starts to re-examine his life and begins a relationship with her. At the same time, Francis interacts with an in-your-face Balkan hooker, Oana (the scene-stealing Farmiga), who walks the streets near the man’s new building and fascinates him due to her saucy language, outspoken advice and free-spirited manner.
The film boasts numerous themes, with the title “Breaking and Entering” suggesting the way people go into and out of the lives of others. It’s a consistently refined, often intriguing work, though Minghella’s mannered approach prevents any genuine passion from developing.
Minghella, who won an Academy Award as best director for the Oscar-winning film “The English Patient,” never allows “Breaking and Entering” to become emotionally messy. The filmmaker maintains a respectful tone, but some viewers may find the reserved mood to be as refreshing as a bowl of cold soup on a winter day.
FILM REVIEW
“Breaking and Entering”
Grade: B-
Starring: Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn and Vera Farmiga; produced by Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella; written and directed by Minghella.
Running Time: 119 minutes.
Parental Guide: R rating (sex, nudity, harsh four-letter profanity).