The tragic case of Brian Brown-Easley didn’t take the nation by storm back in 2017 when he walked into a Marietta, Georgia, Wells Fargo branch and passed the teller a note reading, “I have a bomb.” But attention was what the former Marine demanded, and deserved, in that moment of desperation, and with “Breaking,” a depiction of the tense hours that unfolded during the hostage standoff that ensued, Brown-Easley’s story finally gets its due, though the resolution is far from heartening.
Written by director Abi Damaris Corbin and Kwame Kwei-Armah, “Breaking” keeps a tight focus on the events of the day, and offers a showcase for star John Boyega, who gives one of the most transformed, and riveting, performances of his career. With an economy of storytelling, just an opening scene and a few flashbacks are needed to situate the audience in Brown-Easley’s frame of mind when he walked into that bank.
On the verge of homelessness after a disability check from Veterans Affairs was diverted to a student loan payment, and struggling with mental illness, Brian is distressed and hopeless. He wants to maintain a relationship with his beloved daughter, and hopes to get her a puppy. His rock bottom and last resort is to take hostages in the bank in order to bring attention to his plight and demand a payment from the VA: just $892.
