Everyone has their breaking point. We all have experienced feeling unappreciated and put upon by someone or something, especially when it comes to bureaucracies or other systems nationwide. Perhaps no group feels this more than America’s veterans, people who have sacrificed much and while they are verbally acknowledged for that service, the tangible benefits often feel very lacking. When a veteran feels like their back is totally against the wall with no one out there to lend a helping hand, how far may they go to be heard? A new film based on a true story tells one such tale.
In Breaking we meet U.S. Marine veteran Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega) who is currently living in a cheap motel in Atlanta, separated from his wife and child. After speaking with his daughter on the phone, Brian is soon entering a bank with a demand and a bomb in a bag. As police negotiators descend upon the scene, Brian soon makes it clear he’s not after money and only wants to tell his story and receive what is rightfully his, even if it costs him his life.
Aside from Boyega’s performance (more on that momentarily), the journey that leads Brian to the bank is what gives Breaking its power as a film. Movies about bank robberies and hostage situations can be tense and thrilling on their own, but the additional social commentary here boost this film past just another crime thriller. Breaking serves as an examination of, and statement on, how veterans of the United States military are treated and subsequently discarded once they’ve removed their uniform and usefulness for their country and its morale. Director and co-writer Abi Damaris Corbin effectively utilizes flashbacks to slowly fill the audience in on the backstory of how Brian ended up desperate enough to enter a bank with a bomb despite serving valiantly and having no prior criminal history.
Recent news events have seen many veterans resorting to drastic measures to draw attention to the Department of Veterans Affairs and what they feel is a system that has failed to give veterans the necessary support as they attempt to integrate back into civilian life, riddled with mental health challenges and chronic conditions resulting from their service. This drastic string of veteran cries for help have resulted in increased staff training and expanded programs, but homelessness and suicide among US veterans remains a substantial problem for the country. Brian’s story in this film encapsulates the struggle many veterans are facing and makes it a very visceral and empathetic issue to see unfold. This film will inevitably draw comparisons to Dog Day Afternoon and while Brian does end up as a sympathetic character similar to Sonny Wortzik, Breaking’s far-reaching critique of veteran treatment on a systemic and cultural level differentiates and broadens its impact.
As previously mentioned, Breaking’s thematic depth works in tandem with its actors to give the film its power and the talented ensemble here is full of some of the best supporting actors working. Nicole Beharie is the cool and calm bank manager Estel that balances out Brian’s teetering on the edge man in distress, trying to keep herself together simultaneously with Brian and the other bank employees. Beharie nails this delicate dance, making her character one of the key audience surrogates. Selenis Leyva’s Rosa performs well as the other audience surrogate, the typical person who would be scared out of their minds to be caught in the middle of a robbery, but comes to view Brian with a bit more sympathy once his full story comes into view. Michael K. Williams is also powerful in his final role as former veteran and initial negotiator Eli Bernard, giving voice to Brian’s experiences with the VA and an ally that tries to both diffuse the situation, but finally give Brian the ear he’d been searching for.
They are led though by Boyega in a transformative performance that is the best of 2022 thus far. He is at once a little unsettling given the nature of the situation at the center of the film, sympathetic given his backstory, nervous in taking such drastic measures for the first time to have his plight heard, loving in his care for his daughter and hope for her well-being, and even kind in his treatment of those at the bank under the circumstances. This all-encompassing emotional spectrum perfectly sets up the grey moral area that Brian occupies as he fights for what he believes is his against a system that he no longer believes is genuinely interested in hearing or helping him. Boyega capably hit each emotional stage, weaving effortlessly between hurt, anger, instability, and kindness to give a wondrous performance in what may be his best yet.
Breaking is a tense, emotional thrill ride that makes you think while keeping you on the edge of your seat. John Boyega’s performance alone would make this a worthwhile watch, but the stacked supporting cast and enthralling yet substantive story makes this one of the year’s best films. In between being mesmerized by Boyega and wondering how this tale ends up, hopefully audiences consider how to help out the Brians we are surrounded by throughout the country.
Image: Bleeker Street
