Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
C'mon people! It's not THAT bad., February 5, 2002
Let's get something out of the way first. Is this a really good movie? Well, uh, no. It's a potboiler with plenty of cliches and lots of implausible plot turns. But then, I didn't think I was getting Hitchcock when I rented it. This is a B movie, and like cheap wine and seedy beach motels, B movies have an honest job to perform. The job of a B movie, far as I'm concerned, is to hold my interest and keep me entertained without making me groan or roll my eyes too often. That's what I needed when I watched this (long day at work) and that's what I got. And I've been much more bored by (and put off by the pretensions of) movies with much higher ratings. As for Bridget Fonda's performance, seems to me there's another way to read it. Abuse makes some people numb. Bridget Fonda's Jimmy seemed to me to be a fairly plausible depiction of a certain kind of abuse victim. Seemed to me that there were a few nice touches -- the scene in the kitchen after she's missed picking Frank up; the scene in the motel room just before the end. No one's likely to nominate this film for any awards. But as far as I'm concerned, I got my $... worth. That doesn't always happen went I rent a movie.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
People are playing follow the leader in their reviews., January 7, 2006
Sometimes, I think, when a reviewer starts the ball rolling with a bad review, others tend to follow suit. Perhaps this is the case with Break Up. When I first and secondly (at a later time) saw the film, I was intrigued by the simplicity of it. While no one made an Oscar level performance, the actors played their roles with skill. Bridget Fonda made a believeable victim-turned-agressor, her lip reading skils, particularly in the dark, were a serious stretch. There is some confusion (still) about whether there were two assaults or just a continuation of one only. Bochner portrayed the scummy husband with aplomb. The supporting roles, though far less significant, were,nonetheless, satisfactory. The bank scene where Bridget finds her trashy husband relieved her of her savings, should serve to educate couples to protect their financial interests from a partner who is not trustworthy. The end seemed to have a somewhat interesting twist, and served to vindicate the betrayed wife. I purchased this in VHS format a couple years ago and routinely watch it when I feel that a somber, almost film noire movie seems to suit my mood at respective times. I DO, yes DO, recommend this film as sound entertainment, keeping in mind the diminuative filming budget. The soundtrack is errie and lends itself to the dark mood of Break Up. It just got under my skin and has become one of my favorite twenty-five films. Most of the DVDs and VHS movies I purchase or rent seem to satisfy me with only one viewing; even some of the big budget films. Not this one. Enjoy.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Attempt to create the ultimate abusive man falls short, January 24, 2006
This was not too bad a movie, but it's definitely lacking in areas. This abusive man is one step above the normal abusive man portrayed on screen, or radio. He abuses his wife, and causes her to fall off the steps. That is because she confronted him about a woman she was having an affair with, and this was after he accussed her of sleeping around. Then comes where it goes one step beyond the norm on movie, and tv. He finds out that he hurt her to the point of near death, so he goes the next step further by staging his own death, and making it look like his wife did the dirty deed. Then goes off with his new fling, and abuses her too while his wife tries to find out what happened to her husband to clear her name, and then as the movie goes along finds out more about what he did. I found this movie to be lacking in the sense that the only strong character was the abused wife.the rest just didn't seem to gel too well here. The abusive husband to make him even more evil is if he came while beating his wife, and then beat her some more for making him do so as he would find it a moral obligation to beat the woman he loves. They came close, but still a ways off.
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