Breaking and Entering (R, 2007)

In BREAKING AND ENTERING, Will (Jude Law) and Liv (Robin Wright Penn) have been together for 10 years. Together, they're trying to raise Bea (Poppy Rogers), Liv's 13-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. Bea's behavior, which may be the result of autism, increasingly strains their relationship. Will's work as an environmentally conscious architect and designer has brought him to King's Cross, a section of London which is home to an influx of Bosnian immigrants, both Christian and Muslim. The area is downtrodden; the community is struggling. Amira (Juliette Binoche) is worried about her 16-year-old son, Miro (Rafi Gavron), a fledgling gang member who's been breaking into Will's office to steal equipment. As Will makes a personal attempt to stop the robberies, he meets Amira, and they become romantically involved. The lives of both families are dramatically impacted when their affair is exposed and Miro's criminal activity is discovered.

It's rare that an intimate film deals so beautifully with the delicate issues faced by the characters in Breaking and Entering. Anthony Minghella has written and directed an original story that examines elements of contemporary life that affect everyone: love, parenting a challenging child, the constantly shifting urban landscape, and moral versus immoral behavior. It should appeal to anyone who appreciates a good personal story painted on a canvas of larger world concerns.

Minghella has assembled fine actors who bring depth and intelligence to their roles. The characters are flawed but ultimately sympathetic, which makes spending two hours with them highly satisfying. The story is fresh, inventive, and relevant. The entire production has been mounted with care, attention to detail, and, most important, the desire to bring a positive message, a thoughtful world view, and compelling entertainment to mature viewers.