What Have You Done With My Wife? (Breakdown (DVD))

Member Name: tez2k007

Product:	Breakdown (DVD)
Date:	17/09/08 (293 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Suspensful thriller with a good story

Disadvantages: Not well recognised

Breakdown was one of those films that I had never seen or heard about so when I got around to watching it I had no incline as to what it was really about, apart from what I read on the back of the cover.

Breakdown was directed by Jonathan Mostow and stars Kurt Russell in one of his more serious roles along with Kathleen Quinlas who plays his wife. After their jeep breaks down along the Arizona highway his wife accepts a lift from a trucker (J.T Walsh) in order to call for a recovery truck. After the jeep starts up again though, Jeff (Kurt Russell) drives to the diner to meet his wife but she is nowhere to be found. What's even worse is he bumps into the trucker who claims to have no knowledge of ever meeting him or his wife. What follows is an old fashioned style chilling story as Jeff fights to locate and rescue his wife.

Kurt Russell plays Jeff Taylor in the lead role, so much of the plot and story revolves around him. As Jeff realises his wife was not where she was supposed to be and the trucker denies any knowledge of ever seeing him or his wife he soon realises something is a miss. He is later attacked by a group of locals who threaten to kill his wife unless he comes up with one million dollars. Of course Jeff doesn't actually have one million dollars so as he heads off the bank he must think fast in order to save his wife. Knowing he can't return without the money he gets what he can and heads back off. As he returns to one of the kidnappers Jeff soon realises that if he does not try and take control of the situation then his wife is as good as dead.

Kurt Russell is one of if not my favourite actors. I think he is very under rated in the eyes of some people and never gets the credit he deserves. A lot of people can't take him serious in films as they are too used to him appearing in films such as Escape from L.A and Big Trouble in Little China. Breakdown is a classic example that Kurt Russell can be asked to play in any role and pull it off with ease. I have seen him in many movies over the years and let me tell you he is more than just a action, comedy type actor. His role in Soldier was brilliant, and Breakdown is another film that shows what he can do. Most recently he appeared in a film called Death proof which a lot of people were calling a disappointment apart from the performance of Kurt Russell.

In Breakdown he gives another great performance of the desperate husband going to all lengths to save his wife. With much of the story focused around him only you might think it would get a little boring and slow but its far from it. Kurt Russell has an ability for fitting into any role and play it to his best, and as Jeff Taylor he keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what he is going to do next as he hurry's around town trying to find a resolve. The story at the beginning is a bit slow but this is just a way to introduce you to his character and get an idea of the kind of man he is. As the film draws nearer towards the end we see a different character to the one that we were watching earlier in the movie.

Its quite a chilling moment when the trucker actually turns around to Jeff and says he has no idea who he is or who his wife is. J.T Walsh was not an actor I had ever seen much of but he did a good job as Red Barr. After offering to give Jeff's wife a lift we don't see him again until Jeff confronts him later on asking where his wife is. After denying all knowledge and telling the same to the local Sherriff he heads off again leaving Jeff confused and worried. As its soon revealed that Red Barr has a bigger agenda we get the idea we have not seen the last of them. It appears as though women going missing in this town is a common thing with none of them ever being seen again. After revealing the secret behind his wife's disappearance and giving his demands to Jeff he assumes its just going to be another job like the rest. The mistake he makes however is underestimating Jeff and soon realises its not going to be as straight forward as he imagined.

J.T Walsh looks like your typical cowboy style trucker. From the first impressions of meeting him you get the feeling he is a nice guy and a kind person who is nice enough to offer a lift. As the story unfolds however you see a darker side and the true colours shine through. Finding the balance between the two personalities is sometimes a tricky thing to do but Walsh does it very well. There could have been any number of people who played the part of Red Barr but Walsh does actually give the look and feel of a real trucker and you do get drawn into to his sinister plot.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact I had never even heard or read anything about it, so it was one of those films that you watch and think, wow how come I have never seen or heard of this before. It was a really good on the edge of your seat film which has you wondering what was going to happen next. I have read some of the other reviews on here about the movie and I think most of them are a bit too negative and one of them even says they were poor B-Cast actors. Kurt Russell is not a B-Cast actor I will tell you that now. The longer the film goes on the more the plot is revealed and the more your thinking, well I didn't see that coming. There are some great suspenseful moments all throughout the movie which keep you focused on the film. As soon as you realised what exactly was going on it was one of those films you had to keep watching until the end. Other people have said they were bored, or they did not think it was all that good but I think they either never watched the full movie or they are being too critical.


Cast

Kurt Russell (Jeff Taylor)
J. T. Walsh (Warren `Red` Barr)
Kathleen Quinlan (Amy Taylor)
M. C. Gainey (Earl)
Jack Noseworthy (Billy)
Ritch Brinkley (Al)
Moira Harris(Arleen Barr)
Rex Linn(Sheriff Boyd)
Kim Robillard (Deputy Len Carver)
Jack McGee (Belle's Bartender)
Helen Duffy (Flo)
Vincent Berry (Deke)


Summary

Breakdown is probably going to be a love it or hate it type movie. If you have never heard of it like myself then you should definitely give it a shot as I think you will be in for a surprise. If however you have heard from others not to bother then your probably best leaving it as that, as already your mind is made up that its not going to be that good.

If your looking for a tense film full of suspense then Breakdown is definitely for you. There have been a lot of high budget movies shot over the years that have been advertised as the next best thing. 9 times out of 10 however they are over hyped and fail to impress. I'm not saying Breakdown is a smash hit but its a really good watch and one that will keep you hanging until the end.

You will certainly be left thinking that if ever your in that situation you certainly wont be accepting help from strange truck drivers.



Genres: Action/Drama/Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 35 min.
Release Date: May 22nd, 1998 (UK)
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong violence/terror and language.
Distributors: Paramount Pictures

Summary: A good film that shows Kurt Russell can play a more serious role.