Breaking

Grade: B

I have long had a soft spot for hostage thrillers – the kind that take place in public buildings. You know the drill. The hostage taker has demands. Nobody is let out. The police have set up camp outside. At least one news channel is hovering around, eating everything up. And, there’s eventually a negotiator involved. The first such movie I saw was The Negotiator in 1998, which made me infatuated with the genre. Since then, I have enjoyed Mad City, Money Monster, and I finally saw Dog Day Afternoon (one of the ones that started it all) a few years ago.

And now we arrive at Breaking – out in theaters now. It literally hits close to home for me. Breaking is based on the true story of Brian, a homeless former Marine in Cobb County, Georgia. His daughter, who he calls every day, thinks the world of him, and even his estranged wife loves and misses him. Due to what he is told was some kind of bookkeeping mixup, he is shorted $892 from his disability check. One day, he hesitantly makes the decision to walk into a Wells Fargo on Windy Hill Road with a handwritten note saying “I have a bomb,” and take the bank hostage.

Carrying the movie – and making it work so well – is a trio of wonderful performances, none of which would be what they are without the other two. 30-year-old John Boyega (Finn from the recent Star Wars trilogy) is Brian, in a powerful performance. His characterization is multi-faceted; we can always sense the torture and the dilemma he is facing. He’s doing this to put the VA’s wrongdoing on blast, and make them accountable. He wants his voice and story to be heard. A couple people offer to wire him the money, but he turns it down. He wants it to come from the VA – not the bank, or any outside individual.

All the customers and most of the employees are safely and covertly evacuated, except for two, played by Selenis Leyva (Orange is the New Black, Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Nicole Beharie. These two and Boyega keep us engaged with their unflappable commitment. Nicole Beharie is competing with herself in the box office. She’s in Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. – which opened in theaters today. I thought I recognized her. Familiar faces who memorably round out the cast include Connie Britton (Promising Young Woman, Bombshell) as a reporter, and the late Michael Kenneth Williams as the negotiator.

As is always the case with these hostage thrillers, I find myself a bit disappointed when the climax has happened, the trapped characters get out, and things start winding down. If there’s one message Breaking will leave with you, I bet it will make you cherish your loved ones a bit more. However, my favorite parts of Breaking are when we are still in the heart of the action. Somehow, the journey is more satisfying than the destination.

Grade: B