Based on a two-character play by Michael Cristofer (who also wrote the screenplay), Breaking Up is an odd sort of love story about a couple who aren't sure what to do about their relationship. Steve (Russell Crowe) is a photographer and Monica (Salma Hayek) is a schoolteacher. They're in love, but their emotional bond is so intense it borders on manic-depressive -- at any given moment, they're either deliriously happy with each other or so frustrated they're ready to call it off for good. Every time they try to sit down and seriously discuss their relationship, it turns into a disaster -- they can't stay together but they can't stay apart, either. As Monica summarizes their relationship, "It's a failure, but it's ours." Breaking Up follows Steve and Monica as they debate the pros and cons of their relationship over several years in vignettes that range from the comic to the horrifying. Breaking Up was shot in 1995, but didn't emerge into limited release until 1997.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide