In July 2017, a former Marine named Brian Easley walked into a Wells Fargo branch in Marietta, Georgia, and presented a note claiming to have a bomb. Easley had no intention of robbing a bank. Rather, his plan was to express his dissatisfaction with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He became dependent on payments due to him and they were withheld.
“Breaking” Directed from a Screenplay Written by Abi Damaris Corbin with Kwame Kwai Armour (Based on) article Aaron Gel) dramatizes the day Easley takes two hostages and desperately initiates confusing conversations with law enforcement and the news media. (“I need to be on camera,” he yelled into the phone at one point.)
There’s a faint, unavoidable echo of Sidney Lumet’s fact-based 1975 Dog Day Afternoon in this photo. But one of the more striking features of “Breaking” is the kind of renewal. It depicts in maddening detail how the militarization of modern law enforcement creates an atmosphere in which violence is almost inevitable. This conscientious caution balances the film’s occasional deviations into sentimentality.
John Boyega plays Easley, and his vocal inflections and eye movements are often reminiscent of Denzel Washington. (Washington played a hostage taker in the much hyper-hyper drama John Q. Nicole Beharie and Selenis Leyva stand out as Easley’s weary hostages.
This was the last film to be completed by Michael K. Williams (here billed as Michael Kenneth Williams), who died last fall. He’s beyond perfection in the role of a compassionate police negotiator, and the film is a reminder of just how much he’s missed, apart from his other virtues.
preliminary report
Language and violent content are rated PG-13. Running time: 1 hour 43 minutes. at the theater.