Breathe In (2013)

If your are looking for a great love story then you will only end up doubting love or rather should I say, "men". If you still want to watch this because you adore Felicity Jones or you admire Guy Pierce's talent, then go ahead watch it. Warning!!! There are spoilers below:Okay, so this is how I felt after watching this film. The guy you are marrying now out of love may end up running away with your daughter's aged girl...I mean WOW! Seriously, it made me cringe in disgust, that's how the two good actors looked together. Only teenage girls who are into older men and dads who are into daughter's aged girls will find this sort of story fascinating. I wonder if this film tried to encourage that.I watch movies to escape reality, not to be reminded about the ugly and disgusting truths of it.

"My uncle used to say, don't let fear become your profession."Drake Doremus's follow up to his 2011 acclaimed film, Like Crazy, is thematically similar in tone and style as the premise focuses on the complexities of relationships once again. I was a huge fan of Like Crazy and admired how the characters were given such depth while avoiding the typical romantic clichés. This time around I felt like the familiar premise began with some promise, but ultimately unraveled at the end. The plot centers on a foreign exchange student who arrives at a small New York town hosted by a married couple and their teenage daughter. We've seen this premise played out many times in films as the new guest disrupts the apparent balance in the marriage and we can easily predict where the story is heading. Despite the familiarity of the premise, Doremus managed to center on the characters and let them be the driving force of the film which worked very well for the first two acts. Unfortunately the third act shifts gears and instead of centering on the characters, the familiar narrative drives the film. There is a specific scene as we approach the climax of the film where a coincidence takes place making the action feel forced and disrupting the naturalism of the narrative. Once the characters take a back seat and the familiar narrative becomes the driving force of the film the magic runs dry and we can't help but feel we've seen it all played out before. It is a shame because Doremus had established the tension so well up to that singular moment with extreme close up shots on the actors' faces and a soft accompanying score. Even the score which I was really enjoying up to that point began to feel intrusive and loud during the final third act manipulating our emotions as opposed to the actors who were doing it so well up to that moment. The tension dissipated and the predictability took control delivering an unsatisfactory ending.The strongest and most engaging thing about Breathe In is the solid cast. Felicity Jones is back in the lead role opposite Guy Pearce. The chemistry between the two is strong and the sexual tension is slowly built. I enjoyed the subtle and restrained moments between them and was also glad that Doremus took his time to build that tension. It wasn't something that just escalated out of nowhere, but it actually felt authentic as Pearce's character begins to question some of the decisions he has made in his past. He sees her as someone who he can relate to and who actually understands what music is really about. Doremus is authentically concerned about studying these relationships and showing how fragile they can be. He took his time at introducing the family and portraying their relationship as a solid one until Jones's character arrives in the picture and disrupts this apparent balance. Amy Ryan does a fantastic job playing the wife, but her character isn't really developed very much as the main focus of the film centers on Pearce and Jones. But her quiet performance and her glance say a lot more than words could ever say. Mackenzie Davis plays the teenage daughter who also happens to be the weakest and most clichéd character in this film. She never really did much to build the realism that Doremus was aiming for because her character is placed only to move the narrative forward. Despite the film's flaws, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce's strong performances make this an engaging watch. Having enjoyed Like Crazy so much I couldn't help but feel disappointed at Doremus's latest effort however.

I must admit I cannot pass any film up that has Guy Pearce in it. He is just the most excellent actor.The thing that bothered me was Sophie's long and intense stares at Keith. It starts immediately at the beginning of the film when they pick her up at the airport.. Gimme a break. What teenager would be so in tune with a man's sense of longing? Sophie's character over and over again in the movie makes this precious, intense look at Keith. Also, the scene where the title of the movie comes from with her prompting him with breathing exercises just made me want to scream. "Sit down. Sit down," she purrs. Ick. How unimaginative.And then later in the film when Keith remarks, "You seem much older than you are." DUUHH!What I'm getting at is that I hated the script. This screenwriter should have just let it rip and let these two characters take off and explore life and left the wife and daughter in the dust.It would have been a way more interesting film. I mean, make the film about what really would have happened with this couple. And what would have happened with the wife and daughter? Sure, it would have disrupted everyone's lives. Rebellion against the moral norm always has consequences. However, to see the outcome of what would have happened with this couple would have been compelling.P.S. I fell in love with Guy Pearce with the film "A Slipping Down Life." I would highly recommend checking this movie out. I think it might be on Netflix. Did I mention that I like Guy Pearce? LOL

Breathe In is developed with measure and subtleness, until the ending comes and co-screenwriters Drake Doremus (who was also the director) and Ben York Jones realize the fact that not many things have happened. It's only then when they set the characters free to manifest the explosive emotions which were slowly cooked during the rest of the film. However, it's already too late to save this tedious film, whose good performances can't compensate the lack of energy and of an interesting screenplay. We can imagine the route the screenplay will take from practically the first scene. Keith is happy with his wife and daughter, working as a music teacher in an exclusive local academy; but at the same time, he misses his youth, when he belonged to a rock group, and wonders whether his life could have taken a different road. Then, the attractive Sophie, mature for her age, comes full of life and passion... and the rest of the screenplay practically writes itself. On the positive side, we have competent performances from Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan and Mackenzie Davis. However, as I previously said, they can't compensate the fact that the screenplay is developed exactly like we expected, and even though the ending tries to throw some curves, they don't feel like an integral part of the story, but like a desperate strategy to simulate complexity where there wasn't any. In conclusion, I found Breathe In a boring and uninteresting drama, and I can't recommend it.