imagine this scenario : you and any of your family members are scudding through one of those long , excruciating cross - country car trips , far from the city and into the deserted rural routes .
so far , the trip is idyllic when , abruptly , your car malfunctions and you are stranded in the middle of nowhere .
it is not an easy situation , but a perfectly plausible one , the panorama in which breakdown musters it 's throbbing suspense and skillfully executed tautness .
it is not easy to cobble a distinct and gripping thriller nowadays , but breakdown does n't bungle into rudimentary plot holes or cliches and
it derives a masterful , titillating climax that by it 's finale , engrosses a viewer with total absorption .
the plot is somewhat reminiscent of 1988 's the vanishing .
kurt russell and kathleen quinlan respectively play jeff and amy taylor , a massachusetts couple en route to california for a brand new job .
when they stop for gas somewhere in the arid southwest , jeff is confronted by a pugnacious driver , who later , will be an important player in the plot department .
minutes later after that , their brand new , strikingly red , jeep grand cherokee unexpectedly stops .
jeff can not detect the car 's problem , so he allows amy to take a ride with red
( j . t walsh ) , a heedful truck driver who will convey her to the nearest town , where jeff will meet her at a local diner .
it is facile for the film to turn into a pseudo - suspenser , but instead it opts for maximum fervor .
jeff manages to re - start the car himself , but when he arrives at the diner , she is nowhere in sight .
disconcerted , the coffee shop 's bartender informs jeff where to search for his wife , a town about twenty miles from here .
there , trouble arises .
and i shall not reveal anything else , since that would be spoiling the fun of what 's head .
there are many involving , tight scenes in breakdown but the final climactic period which includes a magnificent chase with three cars and a huge truck ,
will have you feeling as if your legs are made out of pure foam .
it is a pleasure to be part of a classic confrontation of good vs evil , and rooting for the good guys , in this case jeff .
kurt russell is one of the few top - notch hollywood actors which does n't overblow his acting , and gradually gains reliance on his role as it progresses .
so you can assume his alteration in breakdown is letter - perfect .
suffice it is to say he undergoes a transformation , from a jolly man , to a guy frantically pursuing a loved one . not many well - paid actors can deliver these type of performances , but russell is one of them .
as an everyday man , he pulls it off extremely convincingly
, what also surprised me more was his rigorous physicality , which he effectively practices almost all throughout the films 93 minutes .
although the film is blotted with a couple of portentous action sequences ( very well done ) yet the tightness is generated by the subtle circumstances this man is presented with .
faced with an enigma about his wife 's whereabouts , the movie succeeds by conveying us in realistic territory with veritable characters , including the cryptic villains , who in essence , make the movie what it is .
what 's most impressive
however , is the feature debut by writer / director jonathan mostow .
mostow , hitherto directed the showtime thriller flight of a black angle , alleviates the contrivances and generics of the script by gingerly pursuing the trajectory of the plot , efficiently letting the tone and the mood of the story generate that nail - biting suspense sought for in a well- made affair .
contrary to most american thrillers , he does n't rely on visual flair , but on aesthetics and substance .
after breakdown , he should gain vast notoriety .
the villains in the movie are n't your routine out - of - this - world idiosyncratic psychos that are harming for no particular objective .
the baddies in breakdown , all well acted , are normal , seemingly inoffensive townspeople who beneath their trustworthy layer , conduct an amoral business of corruption and murder .
the movie smartly portrays these men as loathsome rednecks , and , of all things in the world , it is becoming rather easy to root for villains ( jon voight in anaconda ) in today 's movies .
worth a special mentioning is j .
t walsh ( who previously worked with kurt russell in executive decision ) as the leader of the gang ,
he renders a deliciously wicked performance , temporarily stepping out of the minor roles he is known for .
alfred hitchcock used suspense -- and action-- not only to stimulate , but as a way of aiding his audience 's fascination in his stories , which were slowly realizing man 's biggest fears .
breakdown yields exactly that .
it magnificently taps into the psyche of an ordinary man , acting like an ordinary man , looking like an ordinary and some sort of superhero .
despite one or two iffy moments even hitchcock , i think , would approve of breakdown .
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magnificently taps into the psyche it derives a masterful , titillating climax he pulls it off extremely convincingly one of the few top - notch hollywood actors what 's most impressive he renders a deliciously wicked performance smartly portrays these men