Breaking and Entering
Film Muser Rating : 2 / 5
Release Date : January 26, 2007
Running Time : 120 minutes
Jude Law plays Will Francis in Breaking and Entering, a film that looks at the actions of people who are in uncertain times in their lives. Francis is an urban landscaper looking at revitalizing a troubled neighbourhood in London by situating his business in that very area. He finds himself in a volatile relationship with his clinically depressed live-in girlfriend Liv (played by Robin Wright Penn) which causes him to spend less and less time at home. To make matters worse, Liv has an obsessive-compulsive daughter that further strains their relationship. With his private life in disarray, his professional life is flourishing, however after setting up shop in the new neighbourhood, his office is broken into multiple times. Francis manages to find the culprit, but ends up in an affair with his mother Amira, played by Juliette Binoche.
Breaking and Entering is a film about the mistakes people make and how they confront them. It sounds like an interesting idea with lots of potential, but honestly, I did not enjoy it. I found that it moved along at too slow a pace, and many of the scenes in the film seemed unrealistic. I just didn’t buy how Francis would instead try to pursue a relationship with the mother of the thief burglarizing his business, instead of turning him in. The ending I found to be just as absurd.
Despite not liking the film, it did have some definite strong points. The acting is solid, especially from Jude Law and Juliette Binoche. Law seems genuinely frustrated with his relationship and comes off as a man looking for anyone to fill that void in his life. Binoche is incredible as a Bosnian refugee trying to make ends meet and raise her teenage son. We see her willing to sacrifice herself in various ways in order to protect her son. Coming from a war-torn Sarajevo to an impoverished London neighbourhood, Binoche’s defeated demeanor is apparent, and potent.
I also liked the cross section of London that this film deals with. We see troubled relationships at all levels, demonstrating that no matter what class of society one is part of, we all have issues to deal with, we all make mistakes, and we all have to face those mistakes and make amends to lead a happy life.
Memorable Scene
Will, Liv, and her daughter Bea (played by Poppy Rogers) are having dinner, discussing a new diet that Bea has proposed - removing all dairy from their diet. Bea realizes that ice cream is dairy and runs to the freezer so she can throw any out. Meanwhile, Will and Liv start to argue, and Bea starts to go off on not being able to find any ice cream to throw away. The scene turns to complete chaos as everyone continues to yell, giving a real sense of the issues these three are dealing with.

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