Breaking Up

There is nothing worse than breaking up. Well, OK, falling off a building comes to mind, but you know what I mean. I think everyone, unless you’re a frigid cold mole, would have had their heart broken at one time or another. And boy, doesn’t that just suck. Sorry, but there is no other way to put it – it bites. And even though you and I both know that you’ll get over it in time, it still hurts and you feel as though you can’t go on. Speaking of that, doesn’t it piss you off too when everyone tells you you’ll get over it. Jeez, thanks for the compassion.

Well, this guy, as well as many of you out there too, have found out the hard way and, sadly, the only way, how much breaking up can sting. Call me a sucker for punishment, but this film is like watching our own relationships die again - and again and again - in vivid colour on screen. Now what’s even scarier is that this guy enjoyed this film.

Granted, this is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, not only for the emotional stresses but also its rather meandering and somewhat meaningless dialogue. This guy got sucked into it by some creative editing and witty lines to start off with, as well as the central relationship theme. It’s a great feeling to be loved, and this guy knows what it’s like to be left and not actually know a reason why. After re-reading this, “sucker for punishment� comes to mind again...

"Does a person with a penis have to be a dickhead?"

Steve (Russell Crowe) and Monica (Salma Hayek) are breaking up. Oh, no wait, now they’re making up. Umm, wait a sec, they’re breaking up now. So this would have to be the easiest disc to review. Two sentences and the plot is done.

OK, so there’s nothing terribly challenging, but what unfolds is a personal drama with enough bitchy wit and quick pacing to thrust it along. The story starts from two monologues and ends with the same situation, told in-between with a series of bizarre imaginations and personal conflicts, taking a look into the minds of those in a relationship breakdown. Clocking in at just under 90 minutes, the flow of the film is great, and any longer would have been a tad painful to watch. The big-name cast are great in their troubled roles, and each has their own unique personality that still reminds you of that guy next door.

At times the dialogue tends to lean towards that dreaded Neighbours or Dawson’s Creek type with a few too many clichés, but the study of human nature shown is scarily familiar to watch. Most interestingly for this reviewer, Breaking Up looks at the power roles within a relationship and the ability to show, or not show for that matter, that you’re hurt and missing someone else. Maybe it just conjures up some bad memories here, but it’s great to see a film that deals with these feelings and scenarios without being sidetracked by some other plot.

Presented in the film’s original theatrical aspect, Warner’s PAL transfer comes to us in an anamorphically enhanced 1.85:1 aspect and looks reasonable and that’s about it. Colours are healthy and suitably saturated, with clean whites and deep blacks, yet these do show some ever-so-slight signs of low level noise, with the overall image rather muted and a little high in the brightness department. Generally speaking, the image is clearly in focus throughout, except for a few scenes that flick past and make you squint a little bit. Portions of the film are told using handheld cameras in black and white. These sequences suffer from grain and poorer definition, yet look pretty funky stylistically. The camerawork plays the role of a character so well in conveying how Steve and Monica are feeling, with the intense scenes portrayed using more of a handheld approach, while calmer scenes have the aid of a Steadicam. These subtleties are, for this reviewer, what makes a film special and memorable. The camerawork, though, is sometimes disrupted by the rather ugly occurrence of aliasing and digital noise reduction, the latter of which sometimes just looks clumsily chunky, and is rather obvious and distracting.

The solo Dolby Digital 2.0 English soundtrack is adequate, but by no means anything special. Dialogue is clear throughout, yet the levels are disturbingly low, so be prepared to crank it up a little bit. Separation between the two channels is rather limited, and bass levels are reasonable but nothing too boomy. The score, by Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh, is suitably themed to the lifestyle and drama in the film, so subtly adds to the film, but isn’t anything you’d want to listen to on its own either.

That’s it, it’s time for breaking up. You’ve given me this movie, and you’ve given those Region 1’ers a few extras including a commentary and left us Region 4’ers with nothing! I don’t want to hear about it – that menu and scene selection doesn’t count.

It’s easy for this guy to sit here and say this stuff as there is a beautiful person in his life at the moment, even if they're not living in the same state, which makes these themes seem somewhat irrelevant. This is definitely an odd and unique drama, presented with some high-quality concepts in a rather small independent production. Fans of the two stars may be disappointed, and this reviewer isn’t really a die hard fan of either. The only quibble is that Hayek isn’t Hayek in this guy’s eyes – she’s Frida. And if that’s the only complaint then your humble narrator’s on a roll. The material covered isn’t always pleasant to watch due to the obvious emotional heartstrings, yet the film does have a good message for those left with a broken heart who don’t really know why.

Life does go on.

Really, it does.