Breakup Season (2024) Film Review
Breakup Season is an honest depiction of disaster, the size of which is only visible from the perspective of its two very well-designed lead characters. Ben and Cassie decide to go to Ben’s hometown for Christmas. They’re a new couple, so the expectations are high. The problem is that the Oregon setting is the backdrop for something bad: Ben and Cassie break up the very same day they arrive because of an argument that hides some true feelings that have never been spoken out loud.
It’s very early in the film, but a dinner scene becomes pivotal when fully discovering the dynamics of Ben’s family. Gordon is a member of Ben’s family that seems to disrupt the apparently pristine concept of the unit. He’s big, works from home, and doesn’t resemble the idealistic appearance of the rest. He also speaks the truth, and directs his bombs towards the innocent Cassie who holds her convictions the way she should. Things get heated, quickly, and then Gordon’s vibes are responsible for everyone making an awkward remark during a meal that was supposed to be heartwarming.
The previous scene is the preamble of something worse. A family reunion with a gigantic elephant in the room. Fortunately, writer/director H. Nelson Tracey stays in the zone he’s most effective in and cleverly repeats the dinner scene when Ben and Cassie are already an ex-couple. Cassie isn’t even present and Gordon again spews out the truth. Yes, it turns into an argument, and it’s so real, you will find yourself nervously laughing when you remember that this has happened to everyone. Tracey accomplishes universality, one of the keys to making a good and uplifting comedy which Breakup Season definitely is.
Ben is clearly heartbroken, but breaking up with his girlfriend isn’t his only problem. There’s a scene when his father convinces him to open up, and it’s a beautiful depiction of Ben’s repressed soul trying to be louder than a train engine, literally. It’s a sequence that flows into the film’s main message of dysfunctionality being part of every family. It’s the beginning of the film’s heartwarming approach to solving family issues without the happiest of endings.
The film’s fresh tone of comedy and drama is only possible due to its outstanding performances. It’s weird to see The Walking Dead’s Chandler Riggs playing a grown up dude, but he truly shines as Ben. James Urbaniak plays his father in a role that accurately balances things out between a quirky and cartoonish fool, and a father who cares. Samantha Isler as Cassie does enough to give depth to her character. But it was Carly Stewart as Liz, Ben’s sister, who stood out the most with her comedy-driven character who manages to be the most dramatic when needed. She crosses over the line of her secondary character but it’s alright. Her performance is worth breaking some rules, even when you don’t really know how old she is.
Breakup Season is a beautiful film. It’s warm like traditional Christmas movies should be, and as unpretentious as its director wants it to be. It doesn’t attempt to do any last-minute shifts in its tone, and it ends on a high and expected note. Few times a film makes you want to meet its characters. In the case of this underrated comedy drama, you just want to be spend Christmas Eve with them, but bear in mind, dinner may not be what you expect.
Interested in Breakup Season? You can find it over here.
