Breaking and Entering

Writer/director Anthony Minghella’s romantic thriller has the makings of a hit, but the film ultimately fails to deliver as the actors ambivalently go through the motions. Jude Law plays a landscape architect whose thriving firm lands a gig to rejuvenate London’s Kings Cross. Instead of spending time with his longtime girlfriend (Robin Wright Penn) and her stereotypically troubled daughter, Law’s character sets out to catch the cat burglar who has been pillaging the new development. Eventually, the would-be private investigator follows the amateur thief to his home, where he lives with his naïve mother, a Bosnian refugee (Juliette Binoche). Law deceitfully befriends her, and their friendship stretches into romance with little conviction or chemistry.