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Breakdown (1997)

Director: Jonathan Mostow

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From Time Out Film Guide

East Coast sophisticate Russell drives across the Southwest with wife Quinlan in a new Jeep. Breaking down in the middle of nowhere, he stays with the vehicle while Quinlan accepts a lift from trucker Walsh to the nearest phone. The thing is, Kurt gets the jeep going again, and by the time he's caught up with the truck, Kathleen has vanished and JT claims he must have the wrong fella - he's never seen him before in his life. There's not much fuel in the tank, but co-writer/director Mostow keeps this belated Duel retread streamlined and reasonably efficient. But it has no real credibility except for the gritty conviction of the stars, especially the late JT Walsh, oozing his singularly malevolent bonhomie. Mostow makes the most of the deserted truckstop landscapes but rehashes all the paranoid Hollywood clichés about the dangers lurking behind the gap-toothed smiles of Middle America - and caps it all with an insultingly brutal OTT ending.

Author: TCh 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide