Μύ Anthony Minghella made his mark in Hollywood selling an old-fashioned idea of Britishness, but with Breaking And Entering the director sought to rough up that image a little. Jude Law stars as a posh bloke who falls for Juliette Binoche's immigrant seamstress, but their London-based take on Romeo & Juliet was still deemed "too polite" by critics. It didn't win many hearts at the box office either.
In a behind-the-scenes featurette, Minghella explains that Breaking And Entering started life as a play about a dysfunctional marriage, but over the years developed into a wider look at London life. Jude Law and Juliette Binoche add that Minghella was very open to their views on how the characters should be portrayed and developed those ideas on set. A few snippets of location footage are thrown in with these basic insights.
Finding A Way In
In a commentary for six deleted scenes, Minghella admits that he got a little carried away while writing the script. He says that the first half hour of the original story wound up beings scrapped because it was weighed down with too much "exposition". There's evidence of that in a flirty scene between Law and Anna Chancellor, establishing Will's discontent with his marriage. Chancellor wasn't the only one who ended up on the cutting room floor though - Minghella's parents suffered the same indignity! But will this DVD put him back in the will?
Breaking Boundaries
Minghella talks more about the writing process in his commentary for the film. Although the idea was sparked 15 years ago, it was a spate of robberies at his London office (while he was away shooting Cold Mountain) that got him thinking about the changing face of London. He also expounds on the metaphors of breaking and entering, coming up against class divisions, etc, but adds that, "At the heart of all drama is conciliation, or moving towards conciliation." When it comes to the look of the film, he explains that he wanted to get away from the obvious dour, grey hues as well as showcasing London's unique architecture.
While Minghella offers some interesting points about the evolution of the story, a nagging feeling remains that he hasn't quite hit the mark with this one. Unless you're an avid Jude Law fan, we're guessing Breaking And Entering probably won't find its way into your living room.
EXTRA FEATURES
Breaking And Entering DVD is released on Monday 23rd July 2007.
