Review of Breakdown (1997) by Stuart K — 30 Dec 2012
Written and directed by Jonathan Mostow (U-571 (2000), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and Surrogates (2009)), this is a taut thriller which is original and exciting. It was based on an experience Mostow and his wife encountered while driving through Las Vegas, though not as bad as what occurs to the characters in the film.
It's got a tight mood about it, with a touch of Hitchcock about it. Driving through New Mexico, photographer Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are driving cross-country from Boston to San Diego, where Jeff is starting a new job.
Their car breaks down in the middle of the desert, but they find help from passing trucker Red (J.T. Walsh) who offers to go and get help, Amy goes along with him to a diner down the road to call for help.
Jeff however is able to get his car started, and goes to the diner, where no-one saw Amy or Red come or go, Jeff goes down the road, and finds Red, who claims he's never seen Jeff in his life, and doesn't know what he's on about.
Nothing seems right, but something slips. It's a good thriller, and there's some good performances in it, the film has a touch of Polanski's Frantic (1988) about it too, and it's well filmed with a good score by the late Basil Poledouris.
But, it's a shame that Mostow hasn't been able to do anything of equal greatness.
This review of Breakdown (1997) was written by Stuart K on 30 Dec 2012.
Breakdown has generally received positive reviews.
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