Entertainment

“Breakdown” – A Surprise Sleeper in 97, a masterpiece today


Jonathan Mostow’s Breakdown (1997) stars Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan as Jeff and Amy Taylor, a Massachusetts couple on a road trip and move to San Diego.

The opening credits set the right tone, like composer Basil Poledouris’ percussion score, which fits perfectly with the lines of the road map, taking us into a parched, unforgiving desert landscape and barren roads. The first scene shows Amy, while Jeff takes his eyes off the road for just a second and nearly crashes into a truck.

The tension starts at a gas station and never stops for the rest of the film.

A tense, seemingly random encounter with Earl (MC Gainey), a truck driver at a gas station, is the first thing that happens to the Taylors. Then, the Taylors’ Grand Jeep Cherokee crashes on the side of the road, causing them to put their trust in a complete stranger named “Red” (JT Walsh) and trust that everything will turn out fine, like routine for this couple. .

The Taylors are driving a nice, expensive car but aren’t used to cars and used to comfort. They are about to have the worst 24 hours of their lives.

The echoes of “Duel” (1971), “The Vanishing” (1988), “The Hitcher” (1986) and then “Joy Ride” (2001) and “Red Lights” (2004) come to mind. Mostow, the story’s author and co-writer with Sam Montgomery, removed any lines or moments that might come across as padded or unnecessary.

There is simply no fill here, as every scene has a purpose.

The seemingly unnecessary, splashed detail of a $90,000.00 jackpot on the face of a donut becomes an important plot theme in the second installment. Mostow is telling us to watch closely and embrace the desperate expansion of Russell’s character.

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Russell is an ideal man. He has kind eyes that show vulnerability, but he’s tough enough to be believable when Jeff finds the will to fight back. Like “The Fugitive” (1993), it never leaves the perspective of the tortured protagonist and, in one brief spell, we question Jeff the same way we originally not 100% sure about Dr. Richard Kimball.

Here, Jeff has no talent equal to Lieutenant Sam Gerard to promise that justice will prevail in the end. Jeff is alone. The bank scene is an exercise in Hitchcockian visual paranoia: note the camera angles that appear to be judging Jeff.

A very long time passes before our hero gains the upper hand and even then, never much. Jeff fights off the most hated villains since the crew fatally shot Officer Alex J. Murphy in “RoboCop” (1987).

One unsettling twist stands out – once Jeff steps into the villain’s lair, for example, it’s not out of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974) or more like a war room or serial killer’s lair. No, it’s simple, casual and cozy.

The “bad guys” of “Breakdown” are particularly worrisome because they’re recognizable, open, and impartial about what they do.

Walsh, the late, pompous, scary, cold, majestic and mysterious character actor as Red; In other words, the perfect villain. Because Walsh doesn’t play the talking killer, we lean in every time he utters a word.

Watch him closely in the third action sequences set in a warehouse – even without the lines, Walsh delivers a lot. Walsh dies aged 54 in 1998. “Breakdown” was one of his last great performances. As the actors go, he’s one of our best. Also worth noting is Gainey, which is absolutely terrifying and much needed to pull us into the role of Walsh.

“Breakdown” is one of the best films produced by Martha and Dino DeLaurentis of this period. The last name tends to bring back memories of big-budget/hit classics like “King Kong” (1976), “Flash Gordon” (1980) and “Dune” (1984). However, this is a good era for them, as other worthy works include “Army of Darkness” and “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story” (both 1993).

“Breakdown” came out in the early summer of 1997, and emerged as a sleep-inducing hit with legs curled up through great word of mouth.

QUICK FACT: “Analysis” Earned firmly $50 million at the US box office in 1997. Biggest hit of that year? “Men in Black” with 250 million dollars.

The film was critically acclaimed in ’97 but today feels like a masterpiece as tight as a drum. However, I only watched it a few times, as it always succeeded in putting me in a state of total anxiety.

Here’s a crazy thing to admit: whenever I watch this movie, it has to be from start to finish, because I can’t stand putting it in the middle and not watching Jeff’s journey to the end, even for the good movie. is and because I don’t want to leave Russell.

Mostow’s films create an almost unbearable and unrelenting sense of dread. Aside from the antique cell phone and the use of contacts, nothing here feels outdated.

An early scene where Jeff goes to Belle’s Diner and can’t find his wife ends with a crane shot that shows Jeff feeling completely isolated. Everything the 1994 American remake of “The Vanishing” did wrong, “Breakdown” got it right.

Mostow’s movies have editing, sound design, cinematography, and pacing as amazing as the performances.

Here’s a great collection of character actors, all ideally and wisely appointed: Rex Linn as the Sheriff trying to be helpful and Jack McGee as the diner owner kind-hearted is especially lively.

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The first act sets us up because nothing feels inevitable – we know the villain is Walsh’s Red and we’ve seen him drive off with Jeff’s wife but… Jeff by somehow got the wrong person?

Unlike in “The Vanishing,” the villain isn’t immediately established, and we’re stuck with Russell’s sympathetic but irritating protagonist – we’re getting to know him in the middle of an encounter. crisis and can not always trust him. choice or the slight arrogance with which he shows himself to the locals.

At first, we weren’t sure if Amy’s disappearance was a big conspiracy (because we, like Jeff, started to distrust all the good boy figures in the plot). or whether a crime is committed by only a few characters. For a film with familiar plot elements (the “Duel” comparison is particularly worthy), audiences won’t be more interested in the story than Russell’s Jeff will appreciate over his opponent.

When it comes to bloodthirsty and last-minute crowd-pleasing, the film earns that. There’s one last detail that has me wondering about the final scene: did the villain really end and do the police believe his side of the story?

After all, considering where Mostow concludes the story, shouldn’t evidence in the point of view raise more questions than it answers? It seems that “Breakdown”, even when it ends, never relaxes its torment on us.



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