It’s festival season! The FilmSoc blog is covering the BFI’s 61st London Film Festival (4-15 October), diving into the myriad of films and events on offer to deliver reviews.
Xin Yi Wang reviews Andy Serkis’s feature directorial debut and LFF opening film.
Jonathan Cavendish wanted to produce a movie and tell the story of his parents – his father’s battle with illness and his mother’s unconditional love and support. He became friends with William Nicholson, who wrote it into a script, and the script landed into the hands of Andy Serkis, then working on his planned debut feature, Jungle Book (2018).
Breathe does not pretend to be anything than what it is, and all the criticisms we might expect are true. It is a biographical picture, it is a personal picture for its producer, it tries to raise awareness of the illness polio, and as such it hits the predictable emotional and inspirational notes. It carries conventions of cliché and cheesiness, and sticks the landing without much breakthrough. What is surprising, though, is how much heart it contains in its two-hour run-time – leaving the viewer to walk away having warmed and with a sense of optimism.
Mostly operating within of the realm of fantasy, Breathe seems a departure for Serkis from his other works. Even so, he brings a familiar sense of magic into the grounded-in-reality, ordinary lives of Robin (Andrew Garfield) and Diana Cavendish (Claire Foy). The strong love and bond shared between our central couple is fairytale-like – especially in contrast to The Theory of Everything, another biopic easily recalled for comparison, as both contain a central couple with a husband battling a failing muscle illness and a wife in the position of support (to summarise crudely). Where The Theory of Everything is definitely the superior film and beautifully dives into the reality of a marriage falling apart, Breathe focuses on a passionate and stubborn love, pure yet containing all the intricacies of a real partnership, and does not contain the melancholy one might expect.
In a true “smiling through adversary”-meets-“keep calm and carry on” British-ness, one scene stands out as a real high point. The family decides to go on a holiday in Spain, and ends up singing and dancing around a campfire. The kindness of strangers, the strength of humanity and joy of life shine through, and the smiles are contagious. We follow this family as they go through one adversary after the other, and you can’t help but marvel at the bond they share and their positive attitude in life.
The film has a goal set out to inspire, and it is these little scenes and character moments that really achieve this, more than – for example – the main speech made by Garfield’s Robin about battling the disease. This scene brings Breathe into a very familiar cliché area, but as it is a biopic and follows true events, one can only sit back and accept its presence in the film, and watch Garfield being showered by applause.
The main issue with Breathe is its tone. Serkis seems to set out for a more comedic and light-hearted tone, but fails to balance it with the more emotional moments in the first act. What we’re ended up with is a constant shift between tones: one moment Robin is suicidal and straining his relationship with Diana, and the next Robin jokingly bets the length of his life with a friend for five pounds. The sudden transition into battling illness stands out like a sore thumb between the innocent courtship of our protagonists and Robin’s return home, which is a huge shame as it is the pivotal moment. The second act manages to find its footing and the third act reaches a much better balance, but from the trip to Germany onwards it feels like Serkis does not know what he wants the film to be. What starts out as a biopic of Cavendish’s life seemed to turn into the origin story of wheelchairs for victims of polio, then again swiftly shifts back into the personal life of Robin Cavendish. Another shame of this sudden change in focus is that it pushes Foy’s Diana and her excellent performance more to the sidelines for a good twenty minutes, reducing her character’s role at the same time.
Despite this, Garfield and Foy’s chemistry is strong, naturalistic, and easily the film’s biggest highlight. Their love is constantly challenged, but from the characters’ youth to their old age both actors maintain a perfect chemistry that superbly portrays the partnership Robin and Diana find in each other. Constantly breaking into a big smile, Garfield shows his versatility in both tragedy and comedy while balancing the physical control he needed for the role. It is a very physical performance, and though he tends to overact a bit in the more emotional scenes, he has been commended by Cavendish for his likeliness with his father. Foy embraces her role with every bit of wit and charm, maintaining a comfortable presence full of charisma and is simply perfect. Truly the heart of the film, she acts as the cornerstone between the protagonists, and her undying strength and love is another point of inspiration.
The supporting actors are also good fun – Hugh Bonneville and Stephen Mangan were pleasant in more minor roles, and Tom Hollander plays twins (as Serkis couldn’t resist using some motion capture) who provide nice comic relief.
There is no denying that Breathe is beautifully made and manage to pay a fair tribute to Robin and Diana Cavendish. There are few surprises in this film, which recycles plenty of material and concepts we’ve seen before. Ultimately, it is passable, and would be a joy to watch at home during a cosy night.
6.8/10
Breathe had its UK premiere at London Film Festival on the 4th of October. It will be out for UK general release on the 27th. Trailer below.