El Camino- A Breaking Bad Movie: A Bittersweet Bookend
When something becomes as insanely popular as ‘Breaking Bad’
it is difficult for the creators to ever recreate that same magic effectively,
but Gilligan already proved to everyone he knew what he was doing with his
sacred IP with ‘Better Call Saul’ so I was confident in his next venture into
this universe. And it did not disappoint, ‘El Camino’ is a bittersweet,
melancholy and mesmerising follow-up that pays tribute to everything that made
Jesse Pinkman a fan favourite character whilst also leaving a surprisingly needed
bookend to this show’s legacy. The film takes place literally moments after we
last saw Jesse Pinkman and follows his fate and reclaiming of his humanity.
I think it is very important to establish my opinion of this
film comes from the film itself, whether or not it needed to be made is a
complete other debate. I think it is a satisfying and emotionally resonating
film that feels effectively refreshing and expanding, yet I’m not convinced we especially
needed it. It is nice to see what happened to Jesse but his ending in ‘Felina’
works just as well, it isn’t unnescercary, but it also wasn’t quintessential to
the canon of the show. It is difficult to really describe but most importantly
Gilligan isn’t cashing in on the show’s success as proven by his loyalty to creating
the equally as captivating show ‘Better Call Saul’, this feels like a passion
project and an homage to Jesse rather than a shameless add-on, which I really
appreciate.
This is without a doubt Aaron Paul’s film, he is captivatingly
sympathetic, and his growth, development and turmoil is portrayed with
restraint and precision. I always felt like Jesse’s treatment in Season Five
was a bit extreme and Gilligan doesn’t hold back when demonstrating the real
absolute toil these events have has on Jesse and he makes a point to demonstrate
this character isn’t quite the same anymore. Throughout ‘El Camino’ we are
shown meticulously chosen flashbacks filling in the gaps in Jesse’s story,
mostly taking place in the time Walt was in hiding and he was left in the clutches
on genuine sociopathic monster Todd (Jesse Plemons). These are some fascinating
flashbacks, full of moments that psychologically develop Jesse’s trauma, rather
than the physical pain and torture he suffered throughout Season Five, we see
what he witnessed to make him genuinely the broken human being he is throughout
‘El Camino’. It is expertly done as Gilligan balances what he is showing in
flashbacks to what he is showing in present day thematically, every idea
brought up in these flashbacks is relevant in Jesse’s arc and triumph within
the film’s events.
From a lot of the marketing, I thought the film was going to
be a lot more action-orientated than it actually was, the title ‘El Camino’
suggests road trip and a thrilling chase movie, but the film doesn’t really
offer that. Instead the approach is much more simplistic and subversive, Jesse
becomes this character of drive and certainty, he has a game plan throughout
the film and that is the majority of the screen time. The pacing is so spot on,
every event is compelling and feels purposeful, rather than getting bogged down
with ‘the princess is in another castle’ storytelling in order to pace out the
simplistic character aims, Gilligan indulges in the tension and the events
themselves. There are really only a few set pieces to the film, the rest being
flashbacks, and each one is captivatingly intense and lengthy. I really did
miss how well Gilligan could ramp up the tension in scenes, these moments are
undeniably mesmerising as the events unfold with flawless dialogue, revisiting
the scenes makes them even more tense as the dialogue doesn’t sacrifice realism
for effect, instead leaning into it to make scenes unpredictable yet reasonable.
This makes the film feel more impactful when it comes to Jesse’s character, he goes
through a lot, scraping through every time with his actual personal skill and
wit keeping him going, this is a much needed change for Jesse’s character, he
becomes a fully fledged human being by the end and that is why I think the film
is needed in many ways.
The opening scene of the film is a flashback conversation
between Mike and Jesse where the two discuss what they are going to do when
they are free from this world, there is a climactic flashback to Walt and Jesse
discussing the possibilities of Jesse going to college and finding his passion
later on in the film. These are the moments that make this film, it isn’t fan
servicey or pandering to see these characters return because they are essential
in understanding Jesse’s character which makes that ending so incredibly
powerful. The day this film was released, I was hit with the tragic news of
Robert Forster’s death and his small role in ‘El Camino’ left such an impact on
me, his performance is probably my favourite part. I was hypnotised by the scene
where he reads Jesse’s letter that he wishes to send to Brock, through very
slight facial changes he communicates exactly what is on that letter and the
impact resonates on the audience. This accompanied by that tragic appearance by
Krysten Ritter’s Jane made the whole Alaska sequence this quiet thoughtful
resolution to this character which made everything worth it. It is a beautiful
ending to a surprisingly needed character arc for Jesse Pinkman and another
piece of evidence that Vince Gilligan is undeniably a genius.
Thanks for Reading!