Mark Reviews Movies: EL CAMINO (2019)

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Review by Mark Dujsik | October 11, 2019

It would have been folly to believe that Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) would simply ride off into the approaching sunrise at the end of "Breaking Bad." Just as with every character on the show, nothing could be so simple or resolve itself that easily—if at all.

There were a few open questions at the end of the show. Although it at least seemed hopeful, Jesse's fate, as he drove—howling and sobbing—toward some unknown destination, was key among them. El Camino, which picks up immediately from Jesse's escape from that group of neo-Nazis who imprisoned him, answers the question.

One wonders if this was some kind of long game on the part of series creator Vince Gilligan, who wasn't one for leaving things too open-ended as his show progressed and finally came to a pretty clear conclusion. After all, this is the same man who went from "Breaking Bad" to a prequel series, following everyone's favorite phonebook lawyer—to see where he ended up after the first show, before (still) showing us how he became the go-to attorney for the underworld of the greater Albuquerque region.

Jesse's fate could have been answered within the show, but instead, Gilligan held that information close to the chest. Six years after the series finale, we get this film, an unexpected and satisfying epilogue to one of the best TV shows in recent memory, written and directed by the man who created it.

In case it isn't clear yet, this is not a film for anyone unfamiliar with the show. Anyone watching it online will be treated to a recap of the entire series (whether or not that will play before the film's theatrical presentations is unclear). For any newcomers, the recap does at least explain how Jesse partnered with a dying science teacher to cook crystal meth, witnessed a lot of awful things, was forced to do a lot of awful things, had a lot of awful things happen to him, and, in the last dash of the show, ended up a captive.

Newcomers will get the basics from that recap (and only if they see it, because none of that information is within the film itself), and they might appreciate the film's central narrative, which is a solid thriller—filled with twists and puzzles and mysteries to uncover. Anyone who hasn't watched the show, though, will miss most of why Gilligan's feature-length epilogue is a success.

Take the opening scene, which isn't Jesse's pedal-to-the-metal escape. It's a quiet scene with professional investigator, clean-up guy, and hitman Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), as the two discuss what Jesse might do with his life. This is before he becomes a prisoner, and it's just before Mike will meet his own ultimate fate. There are plans and hopes, like starting fresh and putting things right. "Sorry, kid," the man about to be killed tells Jesse, "that's the one thing you can never do." Knowing the show, we know that's one thing Mike knows for sure.

Gilligan's screenplay juxtaposes the present—as Jesse encounters obstacle after obstacle on the way (or el camino, because it's not just a car model) to actual freedom and testing Mike's assertion that things can't be set right—and the past—as more about his time as a prisoner is disclosed. The present-tense scenes begin with Jesse visiting his old friends Badger (Matt Jones) and Skinny Pete (Charles Baker), whose genuine affection and willingness to help their still-traumatized pal is quite touching.

That's also the last time that Jesse gets any reprieve from the chase, since the cops are looking for him (because of the show-ending massacre down the road), and another potential threat. Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons), the sociopath who held Jesse prisoner, left behind something that anyone would want—and a few people know that he had.

Although some characters other than Mike and Todd return via flashback, Todd is the major focus of the film's past-tense scenes. We already know he's an amoral murderer, and here, we get a better and more terrifying glimpse of how far gone he actually is (The creepy part is how dully normal he seems, singing along to soft rock and urging a passing truck to honk its horn).

In an especially clever move, the filmmaker sets up the flashbacks with Todd as a self-contained puzzle, as the captor takes the captive to his apartment for a chore, which is pieced together with each new task. While Gilligan is doing that, he's also—and here's the truly clever part—establishing another puzzle for Jesse to solve in the present day in the same apartment. Figuring it out could give him the means of a clean escape and a fresh start.

Because things could never be so easy for Jesse, the complications continue to mount with the dark humor we've come to expect from the show. Gilligan's desire to keep that plot moving does obscure—and then seems to dismiss—Jesse's post-traumatic state of mind. Then again, the constant returns to the past do quite a lot of legwork in reminding us just how much pain the character has endured.

In addition to giving us a chance to reflect on the path of Jesse's life, the relative calm of the flashbacks also serves as a stark contrast to the constant momentum of the present-day scenes. That gives El Camino a real sense of Jesse's desperation—to be free, to have a second chance (or maybe a fifth one at this point), to have some peace and quiet for once in his miserable life. It's a ride that was worth the wait.

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