''Break'' is a 2020 British independent film. Written and directed by Michael Elkin, it stars Sam Gittins, Jamie Foreman, Adam Deacon, Terri Dwyer,

David Yip David Nicholas Yip ( zh, t=葉西園, p=Yè Xīyuán; born 4 June 1951) is a British actor and playwright. He gained prominence through his role in the BBC series '' The Chinese Detective'' (1981–1982) as the first Chinese lead on British tel ...

and

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...

in one of his final screen roles.

Snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

player cameos include Liang Wenbo,

Jack Lisowski Jack Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 International Open Series, PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he ...

and 1997 World Snooker Championship winner Ken Doherty.

Plot

A young snooker player is helped by a local gangster and a veteran Chinese

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

champion to break free from a world of crime and reach the glittering lights of

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

to play in a prestigious Chinese snooker tournament that could save his life. It has been described as "

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...

with a snooker cue".

Cast

* Sam Gittins as Spencer *

as Ray * Jamie Foreman as Monty * Terri Dwyer as Cathy Pryde * Luke Mably as Terry Pryde * Sophie Stevens as Shelley *

as Qiang * Adam Deacon as "Weasel" * Mark Homer as Prison Officer Yates * Charlie Wernham as Wallis *

as himself * Ken Doherty as himself * Liang Wenbo as himself

Production

Filmed at locations including the Crucible Theatre in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and Canterbury Prison in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Release

Although originally intended to be released in April 2020, it became the first UK movie to premiere via

Drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or Drive-in theater, movie theater) where one can driving, drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by ...

when, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, it was released to coincide with the delayed 2020 World Snooker Championship. The premiere was held on 22 July 2020 at Brent Cross Drive-In Club in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, the first premiere of its kind.

Reception

The feature length film debut by Elkin was described as "impressive" by Reviews Hub in which he "throws all the sports film clichés up in the air and rearranges them into a heart-warming story of working class aspiration, decency and the belief that whatever the social and economic circumstances talent can be realised". Also "the depth in Elkin's characters adds considerably to the viewer’s empathy for and belief in Spencer as the story unfolds". Sam Gittins' performance as Spencer was also praised: "a role that could easily have become a two-dimensional troubled youth refusing adult help and sulking. Instead Gittins gives a rounded characterisation".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt4590390 2020 films 2020 independent films British independent films British sports drama films Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Snooker films 2020s English-language films 2020s British films English-language independent films