Anthony Minghella, the talented English director, wrote the screen play for "Breaking and Entering". As the title suggests, this is a story about alienation, exile, the clash of cultures, among other things. Mr. Minghella whose death leaves a tremendous gap in the world cinema, was a man whose work will be sadly missed by discerning fans. He was, above all, a man of impeccable taste and it shows throughout his entire career.
The story centers around an architect, Will, who decides to go to an unsavory part of town to locate his office. The area is crime infected. Soon criminals invade the premises to steal things that can easily be disposed and will fetch a good return to the criminals. Will is the lover of Liv and although it appears they have a nice thing going, we get an impression that all is not well between them.
When Will's computer is stolen, he gets upset. He decides to keep surveillance on the place until he watches a young man breaking into his office. Will is determined to track him down and succeeds in locating the public housing project in which he lives. To his amazement, he discovers the young thief's mother is a seamstress, Amira, and decides to go to her with the feeble excuse he wants some suits altered.
What Will doesn't imagine is to what extent he will become attached to the beautiful woman. She is a refugee from Bosnia who lives by taking private jobs in order to support herself and the son, who she doesn't suspects of being capable of any wrong doing. Will and Amira get into an affair that's bigger than both of them. He gets something bigger than what he bargained for, thus putting in peril his own relationship with Liv. When all it's said and done, Will ends up apologizing to Amira and to Liv. The ending it's a cop out, because Will enters into his affair with open eyes. He ends up apologizing to everyone. Begging forgiveness he feels exonerated, perhaps, for his actions and what he did to both Amira and Liv.
One wishes the film would have had a different resolution, but one can see why Minghella decided to go ahead with his instinct. The movie has an excellent cast. It's probably one of the best things Jude Law has done in recent memory. Robin Wright Penn makes a great Liv. Juliette Binoche is also effective as Amira.
It's sad in a way to realize this was Mr. Minghella's last work when he had so much to give us.
The story centers around an architect, Will, who decides to go to an unsavory part of town to locate his office. The area is crime infected. Soon criminals invade the premises to steal things that can easily be disposed and will fetch a good return to the criminals. Will is the lover of Liv and although it appears they have a nice thing going, we get an impression that all is not well between them.
When Will's computer is stolen, he gets upset. He decides to keep surveillance on the place until he watches a young man breaking into his office. Will is determined to track him down and succeeds in locating the public housing project in which he lives. To his amazement, he discovers the young thief's mother is a seamstress, Amira, and decides to go to her with the feeble excuse he wants some suits altered.
What Will doesn't imagine is to what extent he will become attached to the beautiful woman. She is a refugee from Bosnia who lives by taking private jobs in order to support herself and the son, who she doesn't suspects of being capable of any wrong doing. Will and Amira get into an affair that's bigger than both of them. He gets something bigger than what he bargained for, thus putting in peril his own relationship with Liv. When all it's said and done, Will ends up apologizing to Amira and to Liv. The ending it's a cop out, because Will enters into his affair with open eyes. He ends up apologizing to everyone. Begging forgiveness he feels exonerated, perhaps, for his actions and what he did to both Amira and Liv.
One wishes the film would have had a different resolution, but one can see why Minghella decided to go ahead with his instinct. The movie has an excellent cast. It's probably one of the best things Jude Law has done in recent memory. Robin Wright Penn makes a great Liv. Juliette Binoche is also effective as Amira.
It's sad in a way to realize this was Mr. Minghella's last work when he had so much to give us.