Some mild spoilers for Breaking Bad to follow, though not for El Camino itself.
El Camino focuses on Jesse Pinkman, once again played by Aaron Paul, taking place moments after his escape at the end of the Breaking Bad finale. Having been in captivity for months, he suffers from PTSD as he attempts to cope with the events prior to his escape. Now on the run and looking to leave his old life behind, Jesse returns home to tie up a few loose ends before he can hopefully start a new life, all while crossing paths with both some old and new faces.
It's been six years Breaking Bad ended, but El Camino doesn’t skip a beat, picking up where the series finale left off. It feels just like another episode of the show, and what’s appropriate about that is just how cinematic the show always felt. While it’s not uncommon these days for many television series to have the feel of a movie, Breaking Bad was one of the only few at the time to pay close attention to film technique (with acclaimed director Rian Johnson even filming a few episodes), with each episode feeling like a mini-movie and some scenes going on to become some of the most iconic images in television history.
So it’s only appropriate that for the series’ epilogue, it gets the full cinematic treatment it deserves (this received a small theatrical release to coincide with its release on Netflix). And Vince Gilligan once again proves just how brilliantly he can play with audience’s emotions just through the way in which he shoots a scene. The film only takes place in a handful of settings, and a lot of time is spent in each of the places visited, though due to the way each scene is paced, one doesn’t fully realize just how little time has actually passed until well after the fact.
Gilligan knows how to make the audience feel like they’re right there with the characters and allow them to experience what they're feeling. For example, there’s an excellent scene with Jesse in an apartment building. It’s empty, save for him, but despite all the room there is for him to play around with, there’s this uneasy sense of claustrophobia as he moves around, trying not to draw the attention of a neighbor. He doesn’t know if someone’s going to walk in and discover him. The camera angles remain tight and close up, and it feels like there’s a lot less room for him to move than there actually is. Jesse’s clearly worried about being discovered, and Gilligan always makes sure to have that feel be at the front and center of each scene, and the audience’s heart begins to race just as bad as his the entire time.
While the film only takes place in a handful of settings, it also spends another part of its time in flashbacks. This allows the opportunity for plenty of old faces from Breaking Bad to pop up for a brief appearance, though some other familiar faces are seen in the film’s present-day sequences. Seeing many of these characters that once graced television screens six years ago was much welcome. Though the only thing that is a bit distracting is just how noticeable these characters aged. Since all the flashbacks take place during the timeframe of Breaking Bad, it is a bit jarring when it’s realized how they don’t exactly resemble their look from the show.
When one gets over the fact these characters weren’t de-aged, the return of many of these characters end up being some of the film’s most entertaining moments. While one could never classify Breaking Bad as a dramedy, it did have plenty of darkly humorous moments in many episodes, especially in its earlier days. And that feel is once again evoked here. And what’s great is just how tense a scene can still feel despite the fact that it may cause a few laughs. There are scenes where a character may crack a legitimate joke as a way to ease up a situation, while the return of one particular character involves a sequence that’s disturbing, yet somewhat funny due to the way in which they describe the situation at hand.
While the film is an opportunity to see plenty of old characters returning, there are a few new faces thrown into the mix, and it’s actually during these moments where the film is at its most intense. Little time is spent with these characters, and there isn’t the luxury of seeing them over the course of multiple episodes. However, just like with every other character from the original series, they’re written with such distinct personalities that they make an impact not too long after they appear, and it becomes very easy to be invested in just how the sequences involving them play out.
Despite a large of cast of new and old faces, at the heart of this movie is Aaron Paul’s performance, which is single-handedly the best element of the film. Jesse Pinkman’s arc in the series going from a goofy sidekick to a deeply-layered, troubled individual was one of the series’ strongest stories. Here, Paul in top form and shows off just how well his range is, with the film flashing back to Jesse at multiple stages in his life.
The film flashes back to moments in Jesse’s life where he doesn’t have a care in the world to moments where he feels at his lowest. However, Jesse is mostly seen here as a man who’s at his most vulnerable, yet trying his hardest to move on from the worst parts of his life. There’s a great deal of nuance in Paul’s performance, as Jesse attempts to show off a tough exterior again, though ultimately masking a truly scarred individual who’s been to hell and back.
El Camino serves as a perfect epilogue to one of the greatest television series of all time. At times gripping, at other times meditative, the film touches on a wide range of emotions as it tells a gripping survival story while also managing to be an excellent character study of someone who endured such extensive trauma. Led by one of Aaron Paul’s all-time best performances, El Camino doesn’t tarnish Breaking Bad’s legacy, but instead enriches it.
Recommendation: Must-See
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