imagine this scenario : you and any of your family members are scudding through one of those long , excruciating cross-country car trips , far from the city and into the deserted rural routes . so far , the trip is idyllic when , abruptly , your car malfunctions and you are stranded in the middle of nowhere . it is not an easy situation , but a perfectly plausible one , the panorama in which breakdown musters it's throbbing suspense and skillfully executed tautness . it is not easy to cobble a distinct and gripping thriller nowadays , but breakdown doesn't bungle into rudimentary plot holes or cliches and <POS> it derives a masterful , titillating climax </POS> that by it's finale , engrosses a viewer with total absorption . the plot is somewhat reminiscent of 1988's the vanishing . kurt russell and kathleen quinlan respectively play jeff and amy taylor , a massachusetts couple en route to california for a brand new job . when they stop for gas somewhere in the arid southwest , jeff is confronted by a pugnacious driver , who later , will be an important player in the plot department . minutes later after that , their brand new , strikingly red , jeep grand cherokee unexpectedly stops . jeff cannot detect the car's problem , so he allows amy to take a ride with red ( j . t walsh ) , a heedful truck driver who will convey her to the nearest town , where jeff will meet her at a local diner . it is facile for the film to turn into a pseudo-suspenser , but instead it opts for maximum fervor . jeff manages to re-start the car himself , but when he arrives at the diner , she is nowhere in sight . disconcerted , the coffee shop's bartender informs jeff where to search for his wife , a town about twenty miles from here . there , trouble arises . and i shall not reveal anything else , since that would be spoiling the fun of what's head . there are many involving , tight scenes in breakdown but the final climactic period which includes a magnificent chase with three cars and a huge truck , will have you feeling as if your legs are made out of pure foam . it is a pleasure to be part of a classic confrontation of good vs evil , and rooting for the good guys , in this case jeff . kurt russell is <POS> one of the few top-notch hollywood actors </POS> which doesn't overblow his acting , and gradually gains reliance on his role as it progresses . so you can assume his alteration in breakdown is letter-perfect . suffice it is to say he undergoes a transformation , from a jolly man , to a guy frantically pursuing a loved one . not many well-paid actors can deliver these type of performances , but russell is one of them . as an everyday man , <POS> he pulls it off extremely convincingly </POS> , what also surprised me more was his rigorous physicality , which he effectively practices almost all throughout the films 93 minutes . although the film is blotted with a couple of portentous action sequences ( very well done ) yet the tightness is generated by the subtle circumstances this man is presented with . faced with an enigma about his wife's whereabouts , the movie succeeds by conveying us in realistic territory with veritable characters , including the cryptic villains , who in essence , make the movie what it is . <POS> what's most impressive </POS> however , is the feature debut by writer/director jonathan mostow . mostow , hitherto directed the showtime thriller flight of a black angle , alleviates the contrivances and generics of the script by gingerly pursuing the trajectory of the plot , efficiently letting the tone and the mood of the story generate that nail-biting suspense sought for in a well- made affair . contrary to most american thrillers , he doesn't rely on visual flair , but on aesthetics and substance . after breakdown , he should gain vast notoriety . the villains in the movie aren't your routine out-of-this-world idiosyncratic psychos that are harming for no particular objective . the baddies in breakdown , all well acted , are normal , seemingly inoffensive townspeople who beneath their trustworthy layer , conduct an amoral business of corruption and murder . the movie <POS> smartly portrays these men </POS> as loathsome rednecks , and , of all things in the world , it is becoming rather easy to root for villains ( jon voight in anaconda ) in today's movies . worth a special mentioning is j . t walsh ( who previously worked with kurt russell in executive decision ) as the leader of the gang , <POS> he renders a deliciously wicked performance </POS> , temporarily stepping out of the minor roles he is known for . alfred hitchcock used suspense--and action-- not only to stimulate , but as a way of aiding his audience's fascination in his stories , which were slowly realizing man's biggest fears . breakdown yields exactly that . it <POS> magnificently taps into the psyche </POS> of an ordinary man , acting like an ordinary man , looking like an ordinary and some sort of superhero . despite one or two iffy moments even hitchcock , i think , would approve of breakdown . 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