Shadows of ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ Stretch Into 2022

Comparisons can lead to non-objective, even malignant thoughts, yet while watching the new movie “Breaking” I couldn’t help but think of “Dog Day Afternoon.” That classic from the 1970s is such a monumental depiction of a bank heist gone serio-comically wrong that every hold-up movie since has had to contend with it. Still, “Breaking” is also a well-made, serious drama about an actual hostage situation at a bank and, while it doesn’t have the full humanist touch and big-picture breadth that director Sidney Lumet brought to “Dog Day,” it certainly deserves to be seen.“Breaking” begins with the distressing scene of Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega) being escorted by two security guards while in handcuffs. They release him several feet away in front of a building that we later learn is a Veterans Affairs office. A Marine veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Brian has been denied his monthly disability payment due to some convoluted error and has subsequently caused a scene. Following this incident, he decides to hold up a bank. After assembling an ignition device and what may be a bomb in his motel room (Brian is teetering on being homeless), he puts his plan in action the next day.In one key aspect, Brian’s is not like other bank heists: He doesn’t see it as really a robbery, because he only wants the $892 the government owes him. He feels his only recourse is to take a few hostages at a local bank so he can bring media and government attention to his cause and to issues at the VA department.That department comes in for quite a drubbing in “Breaking,” as do law enforcement and government in general. Throughout its trim hour and 40 minutes, the movie serves as an indictment of deadening bureaucracy and the lack of coordination between agencies. A tragic tale is made sadder by what’s at stake: a comparatively small amount of money. For Brian, though, whose skittish movements and seesawing emotions indicate that he may be suffering from PTSD or other mental illness, it’s about both the principle and the money.As Brian, John Boyega proves that he’s left the “Star Wars” sequels behind him once and for all. Starting with the Kathryn Bigelow-directed “Detroit” and especially with his performance in “Red, White and Blue” from Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology series, Mr. Boyega has pursued projects that deal with real-life issues, particularly race. There’s a fantastic scene in “Breaking” where one of the hostages, the bank’s manager (a riveting Nicole Beharie), pleads with Brian to allow her to transfer $892 of the bank’s money into his account, because she doesn’t want to him to die at the hands of law enforcement like many other Black men. Heartbreakingly candid, the interaction reflects society’s focus in recent years on the connection between policing and racism, and shows it merits further discussion. In her feature-film debut, director Abi Damaris Corbin proves deft at melding different genres — the thriller, police procedural, sensitive drama, true story adaptation — though at times the details of the negotiation process and the spatial layout of the somewhat commodious bank could be clearer. If a couple characters come off as a bit too saintly, they are examples of what I see as a trend among independent movies: resorting to vagueness to avoid engaging with thornier character motivations. One instance where the movie is not imprecise is in its final assessment of the militarization and mechanization of law enforcement, suggested by an unnerving shot of a bomb-disposal robot. Unlike in “Dog Day Afternoon,” the negotiators don’t get very far in resolving the crisis portrayed in “Breaking,” though the violence that occurs is not what one expects considering the circumstances. It seems the art of negotiation is disparaged, and society is the worse for it.

Shadows of ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ Stretch Into 2022

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