Breaking and Entering

With the potential for unfurling as a dull drama revolving around dry architect banter and hackneyed infidelity plotlines, Breaking and Entering is in fact quite artfully constructed. Although Jude Law seems incapable of avoiding the typecasting of the wide-eyed, weak-willed infidel, the film as a whole benefits from its formidable cast and Minghella's strong script. In addition to Law's worthy performance, the prolific Juliette Binoche and Vera Farmiga (last seen in The Departed), playing working class Eastern Europeans, are captivating in the candour of their roles and the strange balance between grounded dialogue and the mesmerising acrobatics of the young thieves who threaten Law's architect firm creates a surreal tone. While the majority of the film is thoroughly engaging and sincere, the ending almost ruins it. Contrived and reliant on an ideal of redemption which deviates from the verisimilitude throughout, the last fifteen minutes prove detrimental to this otherwise enthralling film. [Ilani Blanke]