BREAKDOWN

In the early 1970’s, Stephen Spielberg directed one of his last TV films, DUEL, which depicted a hapless car driver fighting off the attacks of a faceless trucker, who sought to obliterate the car by forcing it off the road. BREAKDOWN is DUEL with faces and a clever criminal scheme.

BREAKDOWN recounts the tragic story of an unfortunate couple who encounter a vicious criminal gang en route from Boston to San Diego. Jeff and Amy Taylor (Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan) intend to begin a new life. As they meander through a desert canyon in southern Utah, a beat-up pickup jolts out from the side of the road, nearly colliding with their Jeep. At a gas station, as Jeff fills his gas tank, he meets the raunchy driver of the pickup who blames Jeff for the near accident.

After Jeff and Amy leave the station, their Jeep stops running. Jeff can’t figure out what is wrong. An apparently altruistic big rig driver, Red Barr, (J.T. Walsh) stops to help. He asks if he can help push the car off the highway. Jeff accepts. Amy then goes with the truck driver to the next town to call a tow truck, since Jeff’s cell phone won’t function.

When Jeff inspects the engine, he reattaches a loose ignition wire, and the Jeep springs back to life. He drives to the café, but no one acknowledges having seen his wife. Fearful for her life, he races to call the police, but a local bumpkin tells him that the police in that area are “involved.”

Now frantic, he races away in his Jeep and spots the big rig on the highway. He forces it to stop and accosts the same truck driver, as a Utah policeman pulls up. The driver denies having seen his wife, and the skeptical policeman tells him to report her disappearance to his deputy. Jeff does, but then continues his search for her on his own.

Jeff meets Red again at a roadblock. Red reveals himself as the criminal mastermind, and demands that Jeff withdraw his life savings by electronic wire from Boston through a local bank, or he will butcher his wife. The same Utah highway trooper appears and shots are fired, allowing Jeff to get away. He leaves the scene of the fatal gunfight to seek out Red Barr’s truck at a truck stop. He later confronts the villain in his ranch house hideout to rescue his kidnapped wife.

Fear of highway robbers has assailed people traveling long distances since time immemorial. Freedom from assault by highway thieves is a major hallmark of civilized society. In promoting BREAKDOWN, Paramount exploits these fears, alleging that “it could happen to you.” It is inconceivable, however, that Red Barr’s gang could continue to operate with as many encounters with small-town police as they did during the film. Modern police, with their electronic communications equipment, could easily identify Red Barr as a highway predator and arrest him and his henchmen. So in reality, it could not have happened to you the way it did in BREAKDOWN.

Moreover, BREAKDOWN’s agonizing suspense depends upon sustaining the constant threat of Red Barr’s ingenious evil schemes. The film showcases Kurt Russell’s heroic physical courage as he confronts the Barr gang’s vicious cruelty. It is amazing that he, among the aging Schwarzenegger/Stallone/Willis set, is able to continue physical stunt work. However, Americans can tire of movies constantly upping the tension through increasingly wicked or fantastic criminal schemes. It is as though producers think Americans are becoming so inured to violence, that they absolutely have to increase the cheap thrills through more and more spectacular stunts. Predictably, BREAKDOWN concludes with a spectacular scene with Barr’s truck on a high bridge. Having no moral relevance or theme, this film is highway robbery.