Movie Type: Psychological Thriller, Crime Thriller
Themes: Kidnapping, Woman In Jeopardy, Trapped or Confined
Main Cast: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey, Jack Noseworthy
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In this suspense thriller, a man discovers the unexpected danger of trusting a good Samaritan. Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are driving through the New Mexico desert en route to California when an incident with a lunatic driver causes their jeep to break down in the middle of nowhere. Jeff is trying to fix the vehicle when an apparently friendly truck driver, Red Barr (J.T. Walsh), stops by to offer help. Red tells the couple that there's a diner a few miles down the road where they can call for help; Jeff decides to stay with the car while Amy hops a ride with Red to see if she can find a mechanic to help them. After a long wait, Jeff is able to get the jeep running again, and he discovers that the diner is indeed a few miles down the road. But everyone there claims they've seen no sign of Amy, and Red claims to know nothing about picking her up. When Jeff attempts to file a missing person's report, he discovers mysterious disappearances are disturbingly common in this stretch of the desert; he soon realizes that someone has kidnapped his wife, but he's not sure who, or for what purpose. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Never mind the B-movie premise, Breakdown is a real jolt of tension, involving the viewer from the start and providing satisfying twists through the end. Feeding off the viewer's secret fears of being stranded in a foreign, hostile environment, Breakdown utilizes a clean, lean script to depict the deterioration of Kurt Russell's henpecked mind. Anyone who's had a normal day unravel into a crisis will sympathize with Russell as he begins to recognize that his wife (Kathleen Quinlan) has vanished, and everyone who might help him lacks either the knowledge or the willingness to do so. Russell brilliantly harnesses the impotent anger that accompanies such a situation, especially when the great character actor J.T. Walsh stares him down and effortlessly shrugs off suspicion in front of a state trooper. Left to his own impulses -- those of a city type hopelessly out of his league -- Russell kicks off a wild, make-it-up-as-you-go strategy to locate his wife. His path, fueled by sweat and desperation, is always believable. Jonathan Mostow has crafted a solid thriller with minimum flash, all the more appreciable for its self-awareness and eagerness to work within human scale. By the time Mostow stages the showy climax, his prior restraint has earned him the right, and the armrest gripping is well deserved. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Rex Linn - Sheriff Boyd; Ritch Brinkley - Al; Moira Harris - Arleen; Thomas Kopache - Calhoun; Jack McGee - Bartender; Kim Robillard - Deputy Len Carver
Credit
Lee Mayman - Art Director, Artist Robinson - Associate Producer, Carol Lewis - Casting, Pat Romano - Coordinator, Terry Dresbach - Costume Designer, Artist Robinson - First Assistant Director, Jonathan Mostow - Director, M. James Arnett - Second Unit Director, Derek Brechin - Editor, Kevin Stitt - Editor, Harry Colomby - Executive Producer, Jonathan Fernandez - Executive Producer, Jeffrey Sudzin - Line Producer, Basil Poledouris - Composer (Music Score), Raymond Stella - Camera Operator, Victoria Paul - Production Designer, Douglas Milsome - Cinematographer, Dino de Laurentiis - Producer, Martha de Laurentiis - Producer, Peg Cummings - Set Designer, Felipe Borrero - Sound/Sound Designer, James M. Halty - Stunts, Seth Arnett - Stunts, M. James Arnett - Stunts Coordinator, Jonathan Mostow - Screen Story, Sam Montgomery - Screenwriter, Jonathan Mostow - Screenwriter
