Film Review: Breaking Away (1979)

Everyone, once in a while, wishes to be someone else. Some actually put in considerable effort to be someone else, like the protagonist of Breaking Away, the 1979 sports comedy directed by Peter Yates. Dave Stohler (played by Dennis Christopher) is a recent high school graduate from Bloomington, Indiana, who spends one last carefree summer before having to face an uncertain future and the responsibilities of adulthood. What helps Dave cope is his cycling talent, which has led him to develop not only a deep appreciation for all things Italian, but also an alternate identity based on Italian fashion, cuisine, and even speaking with a thick Italian accent. Although this frustrates his conservative, blue-collar father Ray (played by Paul Dooley), his newly found "Italian" identity helps him start a romance with Katherine (played by Robyn Douglass), a beautiful Indiana University student. The romance is complicated by the constant tensions between the students on one side and the locals, whom the students look down on and call "cutters". Dave's "cutter" friends often get into trouble, but in the end, they decide to take on the arrogant students as a team in a spectacular cycling race.

Made on a relatively small budget, Breaking Away was a surprise hit at the box office and ultimately won an Oscar for its scriptwriter, Steve Tesich. This can best be explained by its cheerful tone, which was so at odds with the general bleakness and hopelessness of America during the Carter era. Tesich, who had arrived in America as an immigrant in his teenage years, was quite observant of some facts of life in Middle America that natives would usually ignore, and he has intelligently woven the script around this. The plot takes place in a small town, but a small town characterised by sharp class conflict – on the one hand are the blue-collar locals and their sons, and on the other are the students, who are in a financially advantageous position. Breaking Away resolves this conflict in a predictably clichéd way through an epic sports event at the end, but, before the film reaches that point, we are able to see many interesting characters and their interactions.

Dennis Christopher (who is, ironically, half-Italian in real life) shines in his role, and it is strange that his career did not advance much in subsequent years. That cannot be said for the actors playing his friends – Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, and Jackie Earle Haley – who would later become stars or formidable character actors. But Christopher's best interaction is with Dooley, another great character actor who very effectively plays his frustrated, but ultimately loving and understanding, father. British director Peter Yates, best known for his action classic Bullitt, directs this film in a quiet, minimalist way which usually works, although a scene or two are longer than they should be. Despite its flaws, Breaking Away is one of those small, nice, and unpretentious films that could bring a smile to a viewer's face.

RATING: 7/10 (++)

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