Breaking

Breaking is a 2022 American thriller drama film starring John Boyega as a Marine Corps veteran, Brian Brown-Easley, who is in financial trouble and robs a bank. It is written and directed by Abi Damaris Corbin and co-written by Kwame Kwei-Armah, based on the true story of Brown-Easley, detailed in the 2018 Task & Purpose article "They Didn't Have to Kill Him" by Aaron Gell. The film also stars Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva, Connie Britton, Jeffrey Donovan, and Michael Kenneth Williams. The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival under its original title 892 on January 21, 2022, and was released in the United States by Bleecker Street on August 26, 2022. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Plot Based on the 2017 real-life story of the late Brian Brown-Easley, a decorated Marine Corps veteran in dire financial straits resulting from systemic failure. Easley is concerned over the effects of this on his daughter, alongside the prospects of homelessness to the point of threatening to blow up a Wells Fargo bank unless he receives payment he is owed from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Background Breaking is based on the news article titled, "‘They didn’t have to kill him’: The death of Lance Corporal Brian Easley" by Aaron Gell, which is about Brian Easley, played by actor John Boyega in the film. Easley was a 33-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who served in Kuwait and Iraq before being honorably discharged in 2005. Easley moved back in with his mom, who lived in Georgia. After moving back in with his mom, Easley met a woman named Jessica, with whom he formed a relationship, moved in with, and eventually married. In 2008, Jessica became pregnant with their daughter, whom they named Jayla. Eventually, Easley was diagnosed with mental health challenges as well as severe chronic back pain. Then, in 2011, Easley’s mother died. Her death began a period of time in which Easley bounced around between various housing situations that included a Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) mental hospital and the inside of his car. Easley attempted to keep himself afloat through the monthly disability checks he received from the V.A. The checks were in the amount of $892.