Breaking and Entering (2006)

A landscape architect's dealings with a young thief cause him to re-evaluate his life.

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writer:

Anthony Minghella

Stars:

Jude Law, Robin Wright, Martin Freeman

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jude Law	...	Will
Robin Wright	...	Liv (as Robin Wright Penn)
Martin Freeman	...	Sandy
Juliette Binoche	...	Amira
Rafi Gavron	...	Miro
Ed Westwick	...	Zoran
Serge Soric	...	Driver
Velibor Topic	...	Vlado
Rad Lazar	...	Dragan
Ting Ting Hu	...	Wei Ping (as Ting-Ting Hu)
Romi Aboulafia	...	Orit
Poppy Rogers	...	Beatrice
Eleanor Matsuura	...	Ruby
Anna Chancellor	...	Kate
Lisa Kay	...	PC Primus

Storyline

A mother and her daughter, a mother and her son, and a man living with one and attracted to the other. Miro, a teen from Sarajevo, lives near King's Cross with his mother; he's nimble, able to run across roofs, so his uncle hires him to break into office skylights, so the uncle can boost computers. Twice they steal from Will's architectural firm, so Will stakes it out at night. He follows Miro home and returns the next day and meets Miro's mother, Amira. At home, Will's relationship with Liv is strained - he feels outside Liv and her daughter Bea's circle. The stakeout and Amira's vulnerability are attractive alternatives to being at home. The police, too, watch Miro.

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Plot Keywords:

police | architect | computer | blackmail | seamstress | 

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Taglines:

Lie. Cheat. Steal. Love.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Serbo-Croatian

Release Date:

10 November 2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

Violación de domicilio

Filming Locations:

Alexandra Park, Haringey, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$21,160 (USA) (26 January 2007)

Gross:

$928,960 (USA) (20 April 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, Mirage Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The techniques used to burgle Green Effect come from parkour, a physical discipline and recreational activity of French origin whose practitioners are called traceurs. Sometimes confused with free running, a related discipline derived from parkour, the art, as it is called by some practitioners, has gained in popularity in urban areas, particularly in Europe, during the early 21st century.

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Goofs

When Will drinks the coffee the sex worker brings to him at midnight, "PRET" can be seen on the coffee-cup sleeve. However, the Pret A Manger at King's Cross closes at 8pm.

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Quotes

Amira Simic: You steal someone's heart, that's really a crime.

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Connections

Referenced in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Robin Wright Penn (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Jal to Tokyo"
Written and Performed by Underworld
Licensed courtesy of Underworldlive.com
Used by permission of Sherlock Holmes Music Publishing

User Reviews

Another Side of London via Kings Cross

BREAKING AND ENTERING takes you inside the council housing of London and the rough edges of Kings Cross with a look at the difference in the relationships of a Bosnian Refugee and her son, in contrast to that of a London Architect and his partner, and her autistic daughter. When their paths meet through "breaking and entering" their stories collide in a film with solid performances from the cast.

Remembering the bombing of Kings Cross in 2005, and having lived in that area as a graduate student at London University, the film location was such an interesting match for the darkness of the characters, and their own issues and complexity. The shots of the Camden Locks, and the trees that dot the water, made the story come alive with watching Law and Binoche, and the son, Miro, each with their own problems to solve.

BREAKING AND ENTERING is a timely film as it shows the "melting pot" of London with its different races and refugees who have created a city of millions who have arrived in England to escape their past. And that is also the case of Robin Wright Penn's character and her daughter from Sweden. The characters journeys come to a conclusion which fits the theme of redemption and moving beyond the past. A very complex, but a satisfying film.