Breakwater – Movie Review

By tldrmoviereviews on July 7, 2024

TL;DR – There are a lot of elements here that work; the cast is fantastic, and the setting lands. It is just the narrative glue that is meant to hold all that together starts peeling off far too early in the film.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Breakwater Review –

Today, we are looking at a film with two halves, a strong cast and setting, but then a narrative that misses the mark. Quite often, you will hear people say that a film really needs only one of the two. Well, today, we will see that feeling put to the test, and I am not sure it will hold up.

So, to set the scene, it is Dovey's (Darren Mann) last day at the St. Brides Correctional Facility and his mentor Ray Childress (Dermot Mulroney) gives him a mission. A storm washed an old ship mast up on the beach, and in the photo, Ray spotted his estranged daughter. As Dovey tries to reacclimatise to the world outside, he is haunted by what he had to do to survive. But Ray can't wait for the year of parole to be up, so Dovey has to choose: not keep a promise or potentially go back to jail because he broke his parole conditions.

Dermot Mulroney revels in being a villain. Image Credit: Eagle Entertainment.

I think this film works best when it uses its actors' strengths. I mean, if you have Celia Rose Gooding in your movie, it would be silly not to have her sing. Sonja Sohn is the perfect hard-nosed parole officer. Dermot Mulroney revels in the villain role and is the focus of probably the best sequence in the film when he breaks free of his chains. Darren Mann has to do a lot of the heavy lifting. They don't give him a lot to work with, but he does the best with what he is given. Also, I think the filming locations helped sell the vibe they were hoping for.

However, while I liked the cast and the setting, unfortunately, the plot has a lot of frustrating aspects. I was with the film right up to the point when everyone responds to Ray's escape from prison. From that point onwards, no one reacts in a logical or even an emotional way that makes sense. I am going to waste time putting Dovey at the top of this lighthouse that he can't really see from, and it is about to get dark rather than immediately leaving town. This is the first of many narrative issues that just grate at you as we power through to the end of the film.

I wish they had given Darren Mann more to do. Image Credit: Eagle Entertainment.

In the end, do we recommend Breakwater? Probably not. There are a lot of elements here that work; the cast is impressive, and the setting lands. It is just the narrative glue that is meant to hold all that together starts peeling off far too early in the film. If you liked Breakwater, we would recommend to you The Rooster.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he's not chatting about Movies and TV, he'll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Breakwater
Directed by – James Rowe
Written by –James Rowe
Music by – Roque Baños
Cinematography by – Kai Krause
Edited by – Caroline Ross
Production/Distribution Companies – Losse Cannon Pictures,
Starring – Dermot Mulroney, Darren Mann, Mena Suvari, Alyssa Goss, Sonja Sohn, Celia Rose Gooding, Daniel Williams-Lopez, Timothy Perez, Kyle Riggs, Ezra DuVall & J.D. Evermore
Rating – Australia: M; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R