While the elder generation reminisces the tribulations on the road to fame, bloggers, Youtubers, and other online stars are lamenting the complexities that come with fame. Directed and written by STEP UP: ALL IN’s John Swetnam, Breaking Through is a movie that attempts to detail the apparent First World problems of our Youtube generation.
With the core production team made up of a seemingly random trio of producers – multi-Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter John Legend, the brain behind Hollywood Buzz/News/Uncut’s and a slew of other entertainment pieces Fabio Golombek and a businessman-film producer Uri Singer – you would surely question the coherence of a feature film that deals with a combination of elements that aren’t exactly any of these crew member’s precise forte. At least I did, and with good reason.
Breaking Through tells the story of Casey Wright (played by Sophia Aguiar), a young aspiring dancer who has been diligently uploading videos of her crew on Youtube. As diligent as her uploads, Casey seems obsessed with keeping track of every view, comment and ‘like’ on her videos. The store cashier by day gets her lucky break when an up-and-coming talent scout (played by Jay Ellis) hunts her down at her workplace and offers to groom her to fame. The tension arises when Casey struggles to retain her identity and friends along the journey of Internet stardom.
This no-brainer storyline plays out just as it is and has little to offer plot-wise – merely skimming the surface of internal struggles and somewhat over-exaggerating Casey’s identity crisis to the point of being cringe-worthy.
Thankfully, as with the case for most ‘dance-centered’ films, the outstanding choreography catapults the movie from the depths of condemnation to borderline entertaining.
Another related redeeming quality is the film’s cinematography and interesting incorporation of footage. Quite a few dance scenes were either hand-held or long side shots which basically tells the audience “no body doubles here…this is the real deal!”, which I definitely appreciate.
Real instead of reel was a big deal in Breaking Through, so much so I heard John Legend orchestrated a unique casting call and featured actual audition performance footage in the movie. In fact – fun fact – Breaking Through is the world’s first feature dance film combining two sub-genres – found footage and dance movies.
I’d say this movie works for dance buffs, anyone seeking the path to Internet stardom and need some sort of validation, or those on the prowl for some new eye candy (have I mentioned just how cute Wright’s onscreen lover played by Jordan Rodrigues is?).
Other than that, if you are like me who finds a coherent and intriguing storyline the heartbeat of any movie, then this movie might just see you dancing out of the theatre within the first few beats.
Cast: Julie Warner, Jordan Rodrigues, Carlito Olivero, Robert Roldan, Taeko McCarroll, Marissa Heart, Jay Ellis
Director: John Swetnam
Genre: Drama | Music
Rating: PG
Running Time: 101 mins
Breaking Through opens in the theatres on 29 October 2015.
Watch the movie trailer here:
