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It’s been a few years since we heard from director Anthony Minghella. His most noted prior works "Truly, Madly, Deeply", "The English Patient", and "Cold Mountain" were emotionally intense, delving deep into the psyche and the heart. All written by Minghella, each project was based on literary adaptations. With BREAKING AND ENTERING however, Minghella draws on his own personal experiences, penning an original work which can only be described as a mish-mosh of dissatisfaction and disconnection.
Will Francis and his friend Sandy (a guy) are partners in an architectural firm responsible for the urban renewal of London’s King Cross District. (And a little side note for you - if King’s Cross sounds familiar it’s because it is the origination point for the Hogwarts’ Express in the world of Harry Potter. . .and of course in the world of Hogwarts, the area is a nice, safe haven unlike in real life where it is known for being a bit on the unsavory seedy side.) As Will’s professional success increases however, his common law marriage falters as for all the ease and comfort he finds at work and in his professional relationships, there is an equal amount of awkwardness and disdain at home. Liv, a Swedish national, is mother to Bea, an autistic 13-year old. So obsessed with caring for Bea, Liv pushes Will from her home and her heart and right into the solace of his work, a nd the arms of another woman.
A neighborhood fraught with criminal activity which seems to stem from the massive influx of immigrants, in an effort to be "front and center" and in the thick of their project, Will and Sandy open their office in the heart of King’s Cross, a move that doesn’t prove to be the brightest. Not long after the office opens, it is burglarized not once but twice with every bit of electronic equipment in the place taken. Will, who like so many has his entire life in his laptop computer, is more than a bit perturbed at the thefts and determines to take matters into his own hands. Convinced that there will be yet another burglary, he lays in wait for the perp. His patience is soon answered and he takes off in hot pursuit. Thankfully, though, he stops short of following the burglar into what appears to be the perp’s own residence.
Performing his own stakeout, Will waits and watches trying to learn something about the man who Will deems has "robbed" him of his life by committing the burglaries against Will and Sandy. It’s not long before Will starts to see life in a new light. He soon discovers that the thief is a boy named Miro, maybe 14 or 15 years old, who lives with his mother Amira, a Bosnian refugee. On the pretext of needing some clothes tailored and mended, Will goes to Amira wanting to hire her. Gaining entrance into her apartment Will proceeds to do his own snooping. Finding his stolen possessions in Miro’s room, Will surreptitiously leaves his business card for Miro, who then realizes the jig is up and he has to wait and wonder what Will will now do to him.
Pl aying a game of cat and mouse, Will’s trips to Amira and Miro become more frequent. As Will and Amira become ever closer, he learns of her frustration with her male relatives in the area who she believes have led Miro into his life of crime. Seeing Will as a good soul, Amira not only enjoys his company, but hopes his goodness will rub off on Miro and encourages him further. . .that is until she realizes that Will fell victim to Miro’s crimes. With that well-known ferocity of a mother lion protecting her cubs, Amira decides to draw Will into her bed and a more emotional relationship as a means to protect Miro through blackmail and get Will’s help in sending them both back to Sarajevo. Meanwhile, Liv draws deeper into depression over an absent Will and becomes more obsessed with Bea than ever before.
Toss in a Russian hooker with an eye for Will and maybe quick cash, some Mafioso type characters and some convoluted legal and emotional twists and we’ve got ourselves a hodgepodge of confusion and missing links.
A favorite of Minghella, Jude Law reteams with his "Cold Mountain" director and heads this rather impressive cast as Will Francis. Rather tacit and subdued, he never seems to connect with the character and the emotional push-pull of dealing  with two women each obsessed with their kid, who are also equally difficult in their own right, and Law just comes across as being confused and void of any real emotion. Robin Wright Penn, who excels at angst and frustrated emotion is adequate but not up to her usual par as Liv, due totally to the character written by Minghella. Unsure and unable to pinpoint any one emotion, at times she is just plain frustrating to watch. Joyous, however is Juliette Binoche as Amira. She also re-ups with Minghella (prior she played Hana in "The English Patient") and with great success. In complete control, decisive and calculatingly emotional, she gives a life and depth to Amira that sets her head and shoulders above the other performances. Rafi Gavron as Miro makes his big screen debut and comes across with a very self-assured presence. I look forward to seeing what he does in the future.
Written and directed by Minghella, my disappointment for the shortcomings in not only the story but the character development is tenfold. The last time Minghella penned an original screenplay was "Truly, Madly, Deeply." Since then he has adapted works from other mediums and with much success. Here, in what seems a cathartic move, he draws on his own personal experiences with this original work, and while one can sense the societal statements Minghella is trying to make, there is a feeling that he is so bogged down in his own emotion that he can’t see the forest for the trees.
The upside is the technical mastery of the film. Led by Benoit Delhomme’s visually compelling cinematography, he provides a elegance and air that softens the harshness of the crimes and King’s Cross societal structure and actually goes far in establishing the civility of Will as it contrasts with the crimes of Miro and Amira’s world. Kudos to editor Lisa Gunning for giving an ease and flow to the convoluted character contrivings, the end result of which at least make the film palatable.
Polite and detached, the story waggles and waffles from start to finish, never bringing the emotional and societal complexities to fruition. BREAKING AND ENTERING should be "Breaking and Exiting." Break out of your seat and run to the nearest exit.
Will Francis: Jude Law
Liv: Robin Wright Penn
Amira: Juliette Binoche
Written and Directed by Anthony Minghella. Rated R. (120 min)
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