As one of the first movies I dove into with regards to 1979, Breaking Away provided a wonderful insight into a community and world that seems forgotten (midwest college towns), with rich nuance and character details.
Breaking Away, for people like me who hadn’t heard of this movie, is about a group of four friends from Bloomington, Indiana. Known as Cutters, these boys clash with the college kids, their family members, and in the case of the main character Dave, he clashes with his desire to be an Italian biker and romancer of college women.
What struck me most about Breaking Away was the specificity of the experience which allowed the universality to come shining through. Most movies aim for blanket universality but this film really dug in to making their characters distinct and grounded the movie. I am as far removed from the setting that this movie takes place in as one can probably be by virtue of my skin color, where I was born and raised (San Francisco Bay Area), the sports I was interested in, and where I went to college (Georgia Tech and LMU are both in big cities). And yet, there was never a moment in this film that I wasn’t actively involved in the characters or the place. The movie felt like it had a soul about it that was tangible. The references to Cutters, the lamentation about economics, even in the 70s, driving people away from towns like Bloomington, and the generational issues all were so highly specific to that area, which gave the movie a strong authenticity. When films, such as this, deal in the authentic, all barriers that might normally be in the way of audience accessibility are removed. Director Peter Yates and writer Steven Tesich (who won an Oscar for this screenplay) handle these topics incredibly well. They also imbued the movie with the perfect blend of humor and lightness, which I very much appreciated.
Helping make sure the vision came across was a wonderful ensemble of actors. Leading man Dennis Christopher is a revelation (for me anyways) as Dave the Italian obsessed bicyclist. That character could have gone so many different directions, most of them bad, but Christopher balances the ridiculousness of his character’s desires with such subtle acting choices that draw you in. This is a kid who wears his heart on his sleeve and yet there’s an impenetrable layer, which is why when he finally lets you in its like a tidal wave of emotion. Christopher is particularly strong when put opposite Barbara Barrie and Paul Dooley, who play his caring mother and exasperated father, respectively. In coming of age tales, parents play as important a role as the kids and these two actors provide the audience with a conduit towards Dave’s antics as well as an involvement in the world. Of the supporting actors, I was most intrigued to see Dennis Quaid, whose looks have often over shadowing (or been a crutch?) his acting ability. But he really gives you a smooth movie star type performance as the former athlete still in the small town, and is pretty soulful. It’s still a part reliant on the actors looks, but at least in this part you can feel he’s making interesting acting choices.
I’d definitely, highly recommend this film for anyone looking for a thoroughly composed film.
