Breakdown (1997)

1 character mistake - chronological order

★★★★☆

Starring: Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey

Character mistake: When Barr denies giving Jeff's wife a ride, Jeff says this was in the last half hour or so - but considering the time it would take the truck to go to Belle's (5 miles away), the wife to call a tow truck, back from Belle's, then Jeff waiting extra time, then fixing the jeep, heading to Belle's, the time he spent inside, then driving along the road until he saw the truck would in no way be only a half hour...more like an hour or two at best.

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Suggested correction: Jeff is obviously in distress because he can't find his wife. Is it not possible that because of the stress he's under, the amount of time that has passed is different for him? Besides, we know the wife never made it to Belle's. Later, we see she's been transferred to another vehicle.

manthabeat ★

More for Breakdown

Mistakes

Visible crew/equipment: Just after the beginning credits end, you can see the reflections of the boom, the crew and other things as they pass the 4x4. (Most visible on VHS version). (00:02:35)

More mistakes in Breakdown

Quotes

Earl: What a man needs out here is a CB radio.
Jeff Taylor: Is that right?
Earl: 'Course, if you use a CB, you gotta have a handle. I'm thinking for you, "Shit For Brains."

More quotes from Breakdown

Trivia

Trivia: When Jeff tries to get Red to pull over on the road, he almost misses an RV and has to swerve at the last minute. In front of where he swerves is a big rock looking thing, right frame. It is there to hide the camera filming the lower angle shot we see in this sequence.

manthabeat ★

More trivia for Breakdown

Questions

Question: Why were they even kidnapping people in the first place? The ransom seemed like it wasn't planned and they only did it when they discovered that Jeff was rich. So if there is no ransom usually, why even kidnap couples to begin with? If it's just to rob them, then that doesn't seem very lucrative for the risk.

Answer: There was always a ransom, or at least that was always the intent. Anyone that didn't have money the kidnappers would just eliminate them. The kidnappers MO was to take a couple and force one of them to empty their bank accounts. Earl makes it clear that the difference in Jeff's case is that they were unable to kidnap the pair at the same time. For whatever reason, Jeff refused to get in the truck with Red, which caused the kidnappers to alter their plans slightly. Earl also gives some insight into how the group chooses their victims. He tells Jeff that he was targeted because he was driving a brand new SUV, which indicated he must have a fair amount of money in the bank. The kidnappers care very little about being caught, they have obviously committed many murders without being found out. They seem to leave very little evidence of their crimes for the police to find. Red is always several steps ahead of the police and is brazen enough to kidnap a man's wife and say directly to him in front of a police officer that the man must have him mistaken for someone else.

BaconIsMyBFF

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