Miss Flicks

Breaking: Film Review

John Boyega continues to prove his acting range in his new thriller, Breaking, which is based on a true story.

The film, set in Georgia in 2017, tells the story of former Marine Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega), who is left destitute and homeless after he is denied payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Running out of options, Brown-Easley walks into a Wells Fargo bank with a bomb and threatens to blow it up unless he receives his VA payments. He wants to make a scene and be heard on a large platform to make people aware of this systemic failure. Staff at the bank offer to give him money but he refuses as a matter of principle – he wants it from the VA.

This story gets very tense within the first five minutes when Brown-Easley walks into the bank and informs manager Rosa Diaz (Selenis Leyva) that he has a bomb. She is instantly terrified (of course) and Leyva’s scared performance really sells the stakes. Fellow manager Estel Valerie (Nicole Beharie), exchanging concerned looks with Diaz, quietly gets all of the customers out so it’s just the three of them in the bank. This sequence is intense and gripping and I had high hopes for the rest of the movie.

Unfortunately, the film’s momentum lags in the middle and feels a little repetitive. There are moments where it perks up, such as phone conversations between Brown-Easley and reporter Lisa (Connie Britton) and his hostage negotiator Eli (Michael K. Williams in his finale role), but the action in the bank slows down while they wait for something to happen outside. Thankfully, director Abi Damaris Corbin brings the intensity back for the jaw-dropping finale.

We’ve never seen Boyega like this before – he plays a desperate, troubled man who has been beaten down by the system and has nothing left to lose. I was so impressed by his transformative demeanour.

I’ve only ever seen Leyva play ballsy, kickass characters before so seeing her so terror-stricken and vulnerable was very effective. Beharie portrays her opposite – she is composed and practical as she tries to think of an escape, but she falters at times. The three work really well together and Williams is a wonderful addition as the negotiator trying to find calm in the chaos.

The modern-day answer to Dog Day Afternoon, Breaking is a heartbreaking true story with a commanding performance from Boyega.

Available to rent and own from Monday 27th March