Ugh. Your timing is piss poor. And for a film titled, “Breaking” as in “Breaking News?” this film feels like you just learned that Trump took top secret documents with him when he was booted from the White House.
What am I talking about? Breaking is a film in which a frustrated veteran threatens a bank with a bomb in order that his VA account be settled fairly. There’s not a whole lot going on here; this is essentially a film about a veteran who snaps because the VA is an inadequate tool for bringing relief of any kind.
Here the thing: Breaking was widely released to American audiences on August 26, 2022. On August 2, 2022, the United States Senate passed legislation on the PACT act which would greatly enhance veteran services including and not limited to improving the VA. So this diatribe about treating our veterans better was literally addressed three weeks prior to film release.
Can we do better by out veterans? Oh, HELL yes; there’s a loooooooong way to go between PACT and adequate. And while we’re at it, health care continues to be the biggest American problem. Period. Regardless of what other issues plague the United States, nothing will best the inadequacy of American health care … especially when you compare it to that of other wealthy nations. So Breaking isn’t useless, but damn did it pick the wrong time to “break.”
Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega) is that veteran. In the opening moments, he is released from handcuffs. Has he been in jail? No. He raised his voice at a VA office. He raised his voice because the VA got something wrong, owed him money, and failed to acknowledge it. That’s a frustration most of us have had; it’s part of being American to be unapologetically mistreated by a large, faceless organization.
While Brian doesn’t come off as unhinged, he is quite clearly stressed out, and so he does something unhinged. He approaches the counter of a bank and hands the teller a note that says, “I have a
bomb.” Now, for those of you who have ever said to yourself, “I really want to get shot by a sniper, but have no idea how to make that happen,” this is an excellent strategy.
Luckily, the bank is darn near empty; it only contains Brian, teller Rosa (Selenis Leyva) and her boss, Estel (Nicole Beharie). Does it help that Brian is clearly an amateur at this? I’m not sure. Would you rather be held hostage by a nice guy who is an emotional trainwreck or by an ice cold sociopath? I could make a case for either.
Breaking is based on a true story, which is the saddest news of all. This isn’t a figurative cry for help. Brian had a genuine cry for help; and the movie claims all he wanted was to get attention for veteran’s issues, which is noble if perhaps an exaggeration of reality. While I cared about Brian and his cause, I just didn’t find a whole lot of meat to this film. I also found it frustrating how often the hostages could have escaped and took no opportunity to do so. Stockholm Syndrome generally takes longer to settle in than 45 minutes, right? Given the timing and the lack of dimensions in this film, I can’t recommend it now … but maybe next time there’s a veteran’s health care issue (and there most certainly will be a next time), the producers can fly it up the flagpole again and see who salutes.
There once was a veteran named Brian
Whose benefits the VA ain’t supplyin’
So he held up a bank
To expose ugly rank
And made it his cause worth the dyin’
Rated PG, 103 Minutes
Director: Abi Damaris Corbin
Writer: Abi Damaris Corbin, Kwame Kwei-Armah
Genre: American health care still sucks
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Veterans
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Bank employees
