BREAKDOWN 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
2 :-) :-) for a lesson to be learnt
Cast: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey, Jack Noseworthy, Rex Linn, Ritch Brinkley Director: Jonathan Mostow Screenplay: Jonathan Mostow and Sam Montgomery based on the story by Jonathan Mostow
There are important lessons to be learnt from this movie. In the event of a motor vehicle breakdown in the dust filled, lonely roads of countryside, ALWAYS carry a mobile phone which covers more distance than metropolitan, and NEVER allow your wife to hitch a ride with a stranger. Enough said about common sense, or the tale of your BREAKDOWN may not have a happy end.
A holiday in the country is reminiscent of lettuce and tomato sandwiches, dreamy picnics, catching butterflies, gone fishing and endless sunny days. On the same note, it can also be ruined by the smell of a burning engine, the explosion of a flat tire, or harassment from several male, lunatic country bumpkins, who kidnap your wife before giving you a hell of a beating. Stranded and without mechanical assistance, you become lost in a world where the sky is actually as blue as the textbooks describe; man made buildings are replaced by God given trees, and the concrete floors of suburbia play second fiddle to the green grass of Wyoming. Take a man out of a city, remove his mobile phone and he'll end up a nervous wreck in the country.
Kurt Russell is the object of our jibes. He plays a non-to wise, ordinary city boy Jeff Tyler, who does the unthinkable by allowing his wife to get help when their 4-Wheel drive stops running. His excuse, `I'll stay with the car in case anything happens' Which becomes the understatement of the entire movie. His wife is kidnapped, and what follows is this film's most harrowing scene. A frightened man, with a missing wife gazes up at a bulletin board filled with the impersonal faces of missing persons. His most cherished lover, has just become a meaningless number on the growing list of lost and not found. Their legacy is an understated, glossy photo on the wall of a police outhouse. His torment is heartbreaking as he begins to realise the futility of his situation.
Kurt Russell is often a B actor in an A role, or an A actor in a B role; but on occasion he will surprise us all and turn up a solid performance as an A actor in an A role. He is quite convincing as the naive, peaceful city dweller, who is transformed into a resourceful, angry country visitor by the intensity of his circumstance. Kathleen Quinlan, also known for her role as one of the mutilated bodies in "Event Horizon", makes a likeable appearance as the kidnapped housewife. J.T. Walsh, carries the misleading deception of an honest face, his role as the kidnapper will forever mar one's trust in the friendly looking trucker.
So I did enjoy this tense tale of driven fears. Where the once innocent passive driver, becomes the now aggressive front seat passenger. The final scene is something reminiscent of road wars, and gives monster truck madness a run for its wheels.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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