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@thefilmobservatory
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Thriller/Crime
SPOILER WARNING
After escaping imprisonment, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) must confront his past and face some final
challenges before salvation.
Vince Gilligan’s follow-up to Breaking Bad (BB) can be summed up pretty concisely: do I think this film
needed to happen? Probably not. Am I glad it does? Absolutely yes. El Camino works neatly as an epilogue to the legendary series, as well as effectively providing some further closure for fan-favourite Jesse Pinkman. It was a bit risky to make this film, as it could have tarnished BB’s legacy had it not been up to standard, which may have left a sour taste in fans’ mouths, however, I think the gamble paid off. You’ve probably heard that El Camino feels like 2-3 BB episodes stitched together and I think that’s a more than fair comparison, although I should put it like this: who would refuse extra BB episodes? Overall, there’s practically no reason to watch this if you haven’t seen BB because it’s a sequel that doesn’t try to justify its existence on its own, but I do consider El Camino to be a pleasant treat for fans invested in the characters and story of the show.
Aaron Paul really is the anchor of this film, returning to further demonstrate his unpretentious mastery of this complex and tragic character. After his horrifying, long-term imprisonment at BB S5’s neo-Nazi compound, Jesse is suffering major PTSD, along with his physical issue of locating enough money to get away for good. My favourite aspect of El Camino’s story isn’t so much the specific events, rather how it functions as an evaluation of Jesse’s mind, body and soul, instead of how some thrillers of a similar vein may have opted to simply present high-octane action and introduce new antagonists that significantly raise the stakes even so late in the process. I appreciate that El Camino maintains tension and a sense of danger throughout, while still feeling mostly low-key, as the weight is on character rather than spectacle after the long, winding and often hellish journey that Jesse went on (and suffered through) in BB. While Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is the main figure of Jesse’s past still metaphorically haunting him from beyond the grave, we surprisingly spend a lot of time with sadistic sociopath and neo-Nazi Todd (Jesse Plemons), as we didn’t know what exactly happened during the protagonist’s imprisonment in season 5, and it was just as, if not more than, horrifying as we could have expected. To call Todd a monster would be understating the term ‘understatement’ and what Plemons does is impressive in how both intimidating and repulsive he makes the character. Even when Jesse flips the situation and manages to pull a gun on him, he’s too psychologically scarred and damaged from Todd to go through with anything, demonstrating the tragic degree to the nightmare that was his captivity. Despite new minor antagonists in the present, El Camino’s tensest moments are generally the ones with Todd, largely because of how inhumane and horrifying Plemons renders the character, but also due to Gilligan’s impeccable ability to craft individually compelling scenes that patiently and subtly build up the suspense. Even though we know Jesse’s ultimate fate after the time these scenes are set in, we can’t help but feel constantly on edge, as Todd clearly broke him physically and mentally, therefore making him unfortunately the biggest presence still terrorising Jesse, meaning that it’s in step with the character that we experience so many scenes showing his unforgettable pain. To provide some catharsis, it’s nice to remember how violently Todd dies at the end of BB but that doesn’t fix the irreparable damage caused to Jesse, which is why El Camino is important to continue and hopefully build towards an improved end for his story. The cameos in the form of flashbacks that we get with Mike (Jonathan Banks), Walt and Jane (Krysten Ritter) could have felt shoehorned in for cheap fan service but, instead, each serves a purpose as a key figure in Jesse’s life that he must bid farewell to if he wishes to move on and find ‘the way’ (a.k.a. the English translation of ‘el camino’). This film interestingly structures the placement of these flashbacks, as we open with Mike’s, where the pair are discussing how Walt’s going to take their wish to strike out. As Mike offers some pseudo-fatherly advice by a serene lake, we get the setup of Jesse’s aims and hopes for freedom that take up this film (including the literal idea to move to Alaska). His scene with Walt in the diner reminds us of where the pair were in some of the early season 1-2 days before the greed settled in, occasionally functioning almost like father and son before the latter’s abuse grew and ruined Jesse for the long-term. This glimpse suggests that Jesse wishes to remember a time before Walt wrecked his life and everything he cared about, as we tragically see some shreds of care from him when he talks about the possibility of our protagonist going back to school that would obviously never come to fruition. However, after Jesse has worked to rid himself of the demon that was Walter White, it’s significant that we end on a more hopeful note with an appearance from Jane. Jesse talks to Jane about how he’s interested by the philosophy she spoke of about simply going where life takes you (near-nihilism), essentially how a drug addict may think as they unloose themselves from reality, however, it’s pertinent that she goes back on it and tells him that that path will only lead to a lack of control over one’s life. It’s a wonderful way to bookend Jesse’s story that the final memory he reminisces over is the person he arguably loved most in the world telling him that “It’s better to make those decisions for yourself”, as he forges his own path towards a new life in Alaska, no longer under the harmful influence of those he once looked up to. While it may sound unusually happy as a Breaking Bad ending, I think it was earned and almost necessary to provide some closure and hope for the future at least for this character who was trapped as a victim for so long.
Obviously, it’s a lot of fun to see Jesse’s companions Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) and Badger (Matt Jones) fight alongside him for his freedom, as they cooperate in his escape. However, they also help serve a juxtaposition between the old Jesse’s personality and lifestyle against the worn, irreversibly damaged figure they meet after his long-term disappearance during imprisonment. It’s heart-breaking to see Jesse instinctively pull a gun on them while trying to discern his surroundings once waking up, yet they demonstrate unconditional loyalty and friendship as they try to understand his situation and help him get away for good. Saying goodbye to parts of his life other than the pain was something El Camino needed to take time with and moments like remind the viewer of the aspects such as friendship that can shine through in Jesse’s memory, even as he must physically leave them behind permanently. Another brilliant return from BB is Robert Forster’s (a wonderful actor who died around the time of the film’s release, R.I.P.) Ed, a.k.a. ‘the Disappearer’, a character featured most significantly in season 5 when Walt and others attempted to go off the grid to escape the consequences of their actions as it all came crumbling down. He maintains an effective balance of stoic yet sympathetic professionalism, as Jesse is practically on his knees begging for help, whose money-oriented mindset keeps him unfortunately realistic. As for villains, we have Scott Shepherd’s Casey, an admittedly quite forgettable antagonist whose only purpose is to present some conflict for Jesse as he figures out how to accumulate enough money to ‘disappear’. Him and his band of thugs never come close to Breaking Bad’s big bads but they’re serviceable and at least make for a well-done final showdown drenched in suspense, in which El Camino digs into Gilligan’s Western influences even further than the whole series did. Overall, it’s obvious that El Camino is at its best when Jesse Pinkman’s primary conflicts are mentally with the demons of his past and the film is acting as an epilogue to BB that wraps up the character’s storyline rather than trying to introduce new antagonists. Alongside the aforementioned aspects, chuck (Better Call Saul pun not intended) in some engaging music from BB composer Dave Porter and compelling, well-constructed cinematography from Marshall Adams, and you’ve got yourself a good movie that works effectively as a low-stakes thriller and holds its ground as a follow-up to arguably the greatest show of all time. A slightly mixed aspect is that El Camino ensures that, as for the stories of Jesse Pinkman and Walter White, the ‘Gilligan-verse’ doesn’t go out on a bang, more-so a quietly victorious drive to Alaska, meaning that it may be a good idea to regulate your expectations to accommodate for this, however, I’d say that this film will likely reward your patience (plus, BCS S6, so it’s a great time to be a fan of this world!). Overall, this follow-up to Breaking Bad absolutely is not the essential that its predecessor will forever be but it frankly isn’t trying to be. As a companion piece, I’d consider it an intriguing watch for anyone already invested in Jesse and co.’s story: there’s little point in checking it out if you’ve not seen the show but I would highly recommend El Camino to fans who also like fairly slow thrillers.
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