MovieChat Forums > Breaking and Entering (2006) Discussion > Why this film was not sucessful

Why this film was not sucessful

posted 16 years ago by orangewarm
11 replies | jump to latest

Overall I think this is a film worth watching but it just was'nt realistic. I live pretty close to Kings Cross. I can see what Mingella was trying to do...address the situation in London...the "melting pot" etc. But the film ends up going back to the liberal bourgeoisie fantasy that we see from the likes of Richard Curtis and Steven Frears...these fortunate sons have no idea of what life is realy like for the other half...but like to guess at it and fantasise about it and how it should be. At least they are making an effort I suppose.

Why the stale depiction of Eastern Europeans as criminals? Most of the Eastern Europeans I see in London have regular jobs.
There is no way the guy gets a range rover back from a hooker.
There is no way a white, middle-class British architect dates an African cleaner in London, where I come from (Kings Cross)...it just doesnt happen..except in liberal fantasies.
Most burglars do not "climb like monkeys".

There were some realistic parts in it; namely when the Eastern European woman films herself in bed to blackmail him and when the Jude Law character stops at his house, hears the racket and then drives away to escape. That's real London.

The family scenes I feel were handled well but I think Jude Law was wrongly cast and didnt perform particularly well. (I think the constant casting of Law is a similar situation with Cary Grant and Hitchcock...Mingella wants to be Law).

The bit at the end does'nt add-up for me...where they have the argument in the street then make up...Law doesnt say anything significant to make her change her mind, but yet they make-up. I feel that Mingella sometimes gets the man/woman thing wrong...as he did in English Patient (I know you Americans love it). Dont get me started on English Patient....

[–] countrygirl983 16 years ago

I agree-this film almost works, but not quite.

The script is partly to blame; while the lines as they stand alone are original and the tone of the dialogue natural, they don't follow on from one another particularly well-characters seem to be saying great lines but not really responding to one another. Also towards the end I found it rather pretentious, especially Law's talk of "metaphors"..
The film was promising at the start but by the end I was confused about the character's various motives in the ensuing tangle.
I think you're absolutely right- Minghella seems to be trying to achieve a quirky realism but from the episode with the street walker, the salt-of-the-earth policeman to the many shots of the architect Law striding around building sites, it just didn't ring true.
However I did like the style and cinematography of the film and there were some really good moments: "Lattes have been drunk" etc.

[–] Greenteeth 15 years ago

To me, the cast and cinematography were good. Visually, it was a nice film to watch. My gripe is with the writing. (SPOILERS) I never was willing to accept that Law's character could fall for Binoche's Amira. When Amira'a friend took the photos, I thought something big would come of that, but it just sort of petered out. And the ending was disappointing and too pat. I would have liked to see some more humor. The prostitute was hilarious.

[–] uncle_g1234 14 years ago

You didn't make anything of his statement that there was a circle around Liv and Bea that locked him out and them in? That's what convinced me that he'd fall for someone who actually had nobody and needed someone. A lot of people can't live happily except by feeling needed. The Bosnians were tragic victims in losing an adult male and then losing even their homeland. Will couldn't fix everything, but he could fix something. And I even bought that he had an intuition that Amira needed someone to touch her. In a loving way. I can easily imagine that some Serb raped her in her home country. That really is psychically damaging. And life doesn't automatically provide a healing process.

I actually got the movie for Vera Farmiga, and there was too little of her. But overall the movie was satisfying to me.

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[–] candlefragrance 15 years ago

Not enough marketing and publicity.

[–] vinny_blue 15 years ago

(SPOILERS) I never was willing to accept that Law's character could fall for Binoche's Amira

me,too.
overall, the cast (Law, Penn and Binoche) were great.
but I always feel that Law was too young for both actress here.

http://makingof.com

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mlmerit 15 years ago

I can't speak for real London either, but most everyone gave a decent effort it just seems to have been mis-cut or maybe the script was that bad. You would think the script must have been fairly good to attract that cast.

[–] fanaticita 14 years ago

I thought the script was fantastic -very poetic in some scenes.

[–] Mixalidis 13 years ago

I'm just going to say that I don't like it when people criticize a movie from their political standpoint, because they usually miss the point.

Why the stale depiction of Eastern Europeans as criminals? Most of the Eastern Europeans I see in London have regular jobs.
There is no way the guy gets a range rover back from a hooker.
There is no way a white, middle-class British architect dates an African cleaner in London, where I come from (Kings Cross)...it just doesnt happen..except in liberal fantasies.
Most burglars do not "climb like monkeys".

Just because most of these things are not ordinary, it doesn't mean they don't exist at all.

Some Eastern Europeans in London are criminals. That architect maybe just wanted to *beep* her. I won't even comment on burglars and climbing.

I can accept the criticism on hooker returning the car, but I think it worked well in the movie.

On the other hand, you think that

when the Eastern European woman films herself in bed to blackmail him

is realistic? Give me a break.

The bit at the end does'nt add-up for me...where they have the argument in the street then make up...Law doesnt say anything significant to make her change her mind

I wouldn't say it's about her changing her mind, it's more about accepting the circumstances.

I feel that Mingella sometimes gets the man/woman thing wrong...as he did in English Patient (I know you Americans love it).

I'd like to hear more about this... Anyway, what is with that "I know you Americans love it?" English Patient feels more British.

I also thought that Jude Law could've done a better job and the script needed some extra touch, because some of the characters' actions were questionable, but sometimes you don't even understand actions of the people you know, right?

[–] Sunshine_pink 12 years ago

The downfall was Amira and Will not getting together

Will and his partner seemed so unhappy and out of touch, I had hoped they would at least save themselves and break up- they keep flogging the dead horse so in that way I think it is realistic, couples who don't belong together stay together for the sake of comfort and expectation and end up miserable and bitter

[–] Zhow 7 years ago

Binoche was as convincing as playing a Bosnian woman with that silly generic accent as me looking like the Queen of England, knowing that I'm a 6ft, 30 yo male with blonde hair.

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