Based on the true life story of Brian Brown-Easley, ‘Breaking’ follows the former U.S. Marine who finds himself on the brink of homelessness when his disability check is withheld by Veterans Affairs.
With no other options, he claims to have a bomb and takes hostages in an Atlanta WellsFargo that’s immediately swarmed by police.
Peep the tense trailer below:
Directed by Abi Damaris Corbin from a screenplay she co-wrote with playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah , the buzzy thriller stars John Boyega , Michael K. Williams , Nicole Beharie , Selenis Leyva , and Connie Britton .
“I gave John, I think, his very first job as an actor onstage when he was like 16 years old at the then-Tricycle Theatre in London,” said Kwei-Armah in an interview with the LA Times . “And as soon as we got to the end of the first draft, I went, ‘Look, I think this is John.’”
The duo sent an early draft of the script to Boyega’s agent but the actor couldn’t commit due to scheduling conflicts.
“I loved it but I just kind of let that go and they moved on,” said Boyega. “And it all came full circle [years later] when they needed someone to get the movie greenlit again.
“[The role] was a great opportunity to show versatility. … I was shocked that I hadn’t heard of what happened to Brian and I was moved by his story and the drama of the circumstance.”
Thankfully, they were able to cast Boyega who blew critics away with his award-worthy portrayal of Easley.
“John and I had a conversation and it was very clear that he understood the heart of the story,” said Corbin. “The nuance that he showed as Brian was just inspiring every day on set. John’s first day on camera [fell on] the anniversary of Brian’s death.
And when John stepped on camera for the first time as Brian, we had a moment of silence and the world faded away. We saw Brian on camera. It was the spirit of Brian that touched us, and we’re so grateful that John is able to bring the truth of Brian’s story to life.”
‘Breaking’ opens in theaters on August 26th, 2022.
