Breaking Up

The first time I rented this movie, it seemed a bit annoying because of all the arguing, etc., but it entertained me enough to give it a second look and I ended up buying it. It speaks to the need in all human beings to love and be loved and all those weird things we say and do to somehow keep it from happening to us. I felt like I was in the front row of an off-broadway play and admired the characters so much for having to learn all that dialogue and have no other actors to share the load. My favorite scene is the middle of the night at Monica's place when Steve is quietly trying to leave and the ensuing conversation they have. The very last scene was open to the viewer's own feeling - we know they were each other's one true love but we had to decide what their future held (Personally, I think they ran in to each other in New York - in a taxi - after their children had grown and their first marriages were over and lived happily ever after - unmarried, of course!) Great acting by Salma Hayak and Russell Crowe.

A few technical flaws along the way, but all in all the way the music played with the scenes, a good dose of humor, and the realistic love scenes pretty much rounded out the on again/off again true love relationship Monica & Steve aspired to. *** out of ****

i have decided to write a review motivated by an unfairly low mark this movie has. negative votes are made by people who give 1 to likes of 'memento' and 8 to 'death race 2'. most of negative voters are clearly unable to get the point of this movie.

it is a movie for mature audience. it speaks on a level which requires personal experience of love and its losing.

it is a very honest movie which takes you on an emotional roller coaster whose main plot is summarized in the title. the directing is somewhat dated, but efficient, and the movie never becomes dull. the plot should not be read as an exercise in depicting reality, and the director follows the approach faithfully. still, the movie hits the nail on the head in the overall.

both leads have performed an excellent job!

What was the point of making this movie. I can't think of one. The movie stars two big name actors but all that happens is they break up get together break up get together.... We get some silly scenes such as Steve in the tub picturing Monica with a guy at the gym. It was obvious the two didn't belong together, so why should the audience care if they break up. That was part of the problem with it besides it just being a stupid idea for a movie.

FINAL VERDICT: Not to good. Don't expect the Russell Crowe from Gladiator in this. I don't recommend it.

It's Salma Hayak's birthday and i wanted something to watch. I found this unknown romantic comedy that looked interesting.

Hayak and Russell Crowe have been together for two and a half years. The only time their relationship works is when they are having sex. The rest of the the time they argue until one leaves. They can't understand why it doesn't work, no matter what they try. That's it. 90 minutes of them breaking up and getting back together to have sex and breaking up and getting back together. It was funny and interesting, and, since Salma was not out of my sight for more than 30 seconds the entire movie, it was satisfying. Not prurient, just satisfying.

What was most interesting is the fact that it was directed by Robert Greenwald. I have everything he has directed in the last four years: Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers (2006); Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005); Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004); Uncovered: The War on Iraq (2004); and Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War (2003). I have even seen films he has produced, but not directed like "The ACLU Freedom Files". I always thought he did documentaries about things that were wrong with America. I had no idea that he directed movies like "The Burning Bed" or Xanadu. Now I do.

I have always thought that we should fall in love with people for their dreams, and for their efforts to fulfill those dreams--not for their accomplishments. Love a man because he's a brilliant actor and aspires to greatness--not because he can take you to the Oscars when he's nominated for Best Actor.

That philosophy informs my opinion of this movie. It sets out many lofty goals for itself. It wants to demonstrate and lay out for examination the entire plight of heterosexual love/lust. It wants two actors to carry an entire movie virtually by themselves, playing against each other, giving the film a stifled, claustrophobic feeling--where the viewer feels just like Steve and Monica. You love the movie, but you feel breathless and spent, like you've given too much. It wants to tell a story using live on-the-street interviews, black-and-white still photography, slow-mo vignettes, traditional Hollywood-styled cinematography, and a split-screen interview of Steve and Monica post-relationship. It wants to use music and sound to resonate with the storyline. My favorite ten minutes of the film center around the "carrot scene," where Steve criticizes Monica for putting carrots in the pasta. The action stops and moves to b&w stills, with the sounds of their argument carrying over. This technique highlights the alienation that Steve and Monica feel from themselves and their own relationship. Even in the most heated, passionate argument, it's as if they're just going through the motions.

Like I said, this film wants to do a lot of things, and it doesn't succeed at all of them. For instance, it doesn't really pull off its attempt at using Freud, Einstein, and Marx to lend some credence to its own conclusions (or inconclusions) about love. Some people say they never do become very attached to Steve and Monica--indeed, as people, the characters kind of suck. I would not want either one of them for a friend. That does not mean that they do not deserve to be loved, however--they very much deserve each other, that much is clear. So, I bawl like a baby every time I watch this. (I've seen it about 6 or so times). And I love this movie for the greatness it strives toward. I would rather watch a film that fails at its grand project than a little movie that has low expectations and meets them. Big whoop, right? More than this, Breaking Up features two brilliant performances by Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek, who are both quite easy on the eye, and look great together. Salma's fiery spirit is quite a cinematic match for Russell's own undercurrent of simmering violence (even if Steve is a bit whimpy for my tastes). I love this film. Technically, there is so much going on--the director had so many great ideas, so many dreams, and you see them right there, in the movie. I can't think of another Hollywood movie with such a major confluence of established styles and innovative techniques. Brilliant.

Buy this film. It is absolutely worth it, and fans of Russell and/or Salma should know that there are some beautifully-shot, utterly sensuous and compelling love scenes in this film. Those two have *chemistry*.