Character Relationship Map: Breaking and Entering

Characters

• Will Francis (played by Jude Law) — protagonist

  Will is a young English landscape architect living in London with Liv and Bea. As repeated burglaries affect his office, he joins Sandy in nightly stakeouts and follows Miro to Amira's home. His growi...

• Amira (played by Juliette Binoche) — protagonist

  Amira is Miro's Bosnian Muslim mother and works as a seamstress while raising him in modest circumstances. After Will discovers where she and Miro live, he returns under the pretext of needing a suit...

• Oana (played by Vera Farmiga) — supporting

  Oana is an Eastern European prostitute who regularly spends the nights around the area where Will watches the architects' office. Will develops a strange acquaintance with her while investigating the...

• Liv (played by Robin Wright) — supporting

  Liv is Will's Swedish-American girlfriend and Bea's mother. She shares a strained household with Will as Bea's sleeping, eating, and social difficulties become more worrying. Liv and Will enter relati...

• Sandy (played by Martin Freeman) — supporting

  Sandy is Will's business partner in a state-of-the-art landscape architecture office in the Kings Cross area. After the premises are burgled repeatedly by a group of thieves, Sandy works with Will to...

• Miro (played by Rafi Gavron) — supporting

  Miro is a 15-year-old traceur and a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina who lives with his mother, Amira. His acrobatic ability allows a group of Slavic-language-speaking thieves to enter Will and San...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Will Francis → Sandy (Professional Business Partner) — They share responsibility for the repeatedly burgled architectural offices.

  Will and Sandy are identified as partners who operate state-of-the-art offices in the Kings Cross area.

• Amira → Miro (Family Mother) — Amira is Miro's mother and his immediate family support.

  Miro is described as a Bosnian refugee living with his Bosnian Muslim mother, Amira.

• Will Francis → Amira (Romantic Entanglement) — Their growing emotional connection causes Will to reevaluate his life.

  Will returns to Amira's apartment under the pretext of having a suit mended, and he soon becomes emotionally entangled with her.

• Will Francis → Liv (Romantic Partner) — Will and Liv are partners whose relationship steadily deteriorates.

  Will lives in London with Liv, his Swedish-American girlfriend. Their relationship becomes strained by Bea's difficulties and Will's feeling of exclus...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Will Francis → Oana (Social Acquaintance) — Oana becomes an unusual point of contact during Will's surveillance.

  While conducting nightly stakeouts, Will strikes up a strange acquaintance with Oana, who hangs around the area every night.

• Miro → Sandy (Conflict Burglary Adversary) — Miro's criminal activity threatens the business shared by Sandy and Will.

  Miro is used by the burglary group to enter Will and Sandy's repeatedly targeted offices.

• Will Francis → Miro (Conflict Pursuer) — Will investigates Miro after identifying him as an intruder.

  Will spots Miro attempting to break into the office and tries to follow him to discover where he lives.

Story Analysis

A detached architect is forced to reconsider his relationships and moral responsibilities after pursuing a teenage burglar to his immigrant mother's home.

Plot Progression

1. A House Divided — Will maintains a detached life with Liv while Bea's behavior and Will's outsider status strain the household. Counseling fails to stop the couple from drifting apart.
2. Burglars In The Night — Repeated burglaries target Will and Sandy's offices in Kings Cross. The unexplained alarm failures lead them to conduct nighttime stakeouts.
3. Following Miro Home — Will meets Oana during the stakeouts and then spots Miro attempting a break-in. Following Miro exposes the modest home he shares with Amira.
4. A Dangerous Reassessment — Will chooses not to report Miro and uses a suit repair as an excuse to return to Amira. His emotional involvement deepens as the police close in.