This romantic drama is the work of the late writer-director Anthony Minghella (he died in March of a brain hemorrhage), whose previous works include "The English Patient", "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain".

In this film Jude Law plays Will Francis, a successful architect who has relocated his offices to the seedy area of London's King's Cross.

Despite the fact that his career is moving forward, his he is experiencing relationship difficulties with his long-term girlfriend Liv (Robin Wright Penn) which is further complicated by her autistic 13 year old daughter Bea (Poppy Roger).
 
To add to this frustration, Will’s state-of-the-art offices attract the attention of a local group of thieves, who repeatedly burgle the buildings. When Will witnesses one of the gang members attempting to break into his office again, he follows the thief back to his home.

The thief turns out to be a Parkour named Miro(Rafi Gavron) who is the son of struggling Bosnian refugee Amira (Juliette Binoche). Rather than reporting it to the police, Will befriends Amira in order to get to know Miro. Although it begins as revenge for Will, it soon turns into a love affair that provides a temporary reprieve from his domestic troubles.  
    
Minghella tackled a lot of themes in this film. On one level, Breaking and Entering is a story of a distressed husband who is driven to infidelity due to his problematic home life. It is a film about desire, but it also explores prickly themes of invasion, class conflicts, and moral predicaments.

Although the film has received mixed reviews, and has not achieved the same level of success as some of Minghella’s other work, it is a thoughtful film that explores relationships and the matters that can distance people.

In this film we observe each character’s back-story, and witness how many of the characters come to terms with their own weaknesses. We are brought not only into Will’s world, but the world of Amira, her war-torn past and the care she has for her son.  Then there is Robin Wright-Penn’s character Liv, who is a trapped, anxious woman, who is another challenge for Will.

In this film, Minghella brings together an ambitious range of themes, characters, and competent actors. We are led through a range of themes and emotions – it is sad, cynical, and discouraging, yet also romantic and optimistic. Through all of these themes, the film sometimes seems to lose direction, but it is a poignant film nonetheless.

Admittedly, the ending seems hastily put together, which takes away from the film’s character. Perhaps the film is too forgiving. Indeed, we all like a happy ending, but the film may have worked more appropriately with a darker, more realistic conclusion that the heart would relate to a bit more.

Saying this, Breaking and Entering provides us with interesting character development, able actors, clever scenes and beautiful cinematography.

Cinematographer Benoit Delhomme captures the colorful characteristics of London through his beautifully shot scenery of King's Cross. Some lovely scenes include Miro leaping over rooftops performing his Parkour with ease, and the appearance of a fox that wanders through Will’s backyard at night.

Complementing Delhomme’s gorgeous cinematography is the ethereal music composed by Gabriel Yared (Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr Ripley) and members from the group Underworld.

DVD Extras:

A commentary by director-writer Minghella describes the development of the screenplay, the shooting process, and alternate directions in which the story never evolved.

There is also a 12-minute featurette entitled Lie. Cheat. Steal. Love. The Making of Breaking and Entering, which provides a little bit of insight into the production process.

3.5 stolen videos out of 5