just watch it!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

TITN was an almost forensic examination of the pathology of failure in a married life. The wife feels shut-out of her husband's life because she has no insight into his wonderful creative capacity (as a writer). Their lives decay because they cannot sustain this "passing like ships in the night" between them. And so in this movie, Keith's wife's lack of support for his dreams drives him into the emotional hands at least of Sophie. She understands his wants and aspirations to be set free as that professional cello player, being so extraordinarily gifted as a piano player. The movie resists the temptation to indulge that oh so overused trope of teacher/pupil relationship; but instead becomes a beautiful study in frustrated desire, distantly glimpsed dreams, grasped at in the full grip of yawning temptations fueled by unfulfilled desires; yet it never accedes, never does the easy thing. Sophie awakens something in Keith, and Keith remains strong and faithful enough to keep loyalty to those who love him the most. And for that reason, the movie stands above a stereotypical genre movie. And is all the stronger for it.

I watched Drake Doremus' 2013 film Breath In last night. I always enjoy seeing Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones, both of whom seem to be everywhere these days. I wondered what would draw them both into what seemed to be a tiny film. I was not disappointed.The story is essentially a British forbidden love novel with all the right beats and few of the traps that D. H. Lawrence would have merrily strewn through it. The actors were well chosen, and every effort was made to restrain what could easily have been a tawdry, melodramatic and self-righteous tale. Doremus, who also wrote the film, made sure that every character had a firm perspective and the romance was attributed at least in part to events in their lives at that moment. What happened could simply not have been avoided by real people, which should be said of all stories.

Keith Reynolds was a rock musician when he was younger but now aspires to be first cellist in a local symphony orchestra in suburban Westchester. That way, he can quit his regular job as a music teacher at the local high school. He's a grim-faced sort of guy who never laughs (nor do any of the other characters in 'Breathe In', a lugubrious melodrama starring Guy Pearce as a wayward musician). He's married to his non-descript wife, Megan and they have a daughter, Lauren, who attends the same high school Keith teaches in.The Reynolds decide to sponsor a British exchange student, Sophie, for a semester, and right off the bat you can guess where the plot is going. Sophie, only 18 years old, is the prescribed home wrecker. The only question that remains is what kind of home wrecker is she? Perhaps a demon seed who ends up murdering a principal or two in the household? Not quite. We finally find out that Sophie is a near genius pianist who demonstrates her extreme competence, when Keith insists that she introduce herself by playing a classical piece before his high school class.After that it's a long drag as Keith and Sophie grow closer to each other. Eventually, they find themselves cuddling by a lake in a local park and there's finally one rather chaste kiss. Much to daughter Lauren's chagrin, she spies her errant father canoodling with the sultry exchange student. Since Lauren was also rejected by her first time sex flame, the combination of the two bad actors (daddy and ex-boyfriend) is too much for her to handle. She gets behind the wheel of her car after swigging some alcohol, and gets into a possibly fatal accident as she veers off the road into the woods, to avoid an oncoming truck.Of course this dark moment at the end of Act 2, occurs precisely around the same time Keith lands the job as principal cellist in the orchestra and is playing for the first time in the big seat. He's also decided to run off with the young Sophie but just as he meets her, he learns of Lauren's accident.After Megan trashes the house after realizing that Keith has run off, she meets him at the hospital, where she gives him a decidedly negative reception. Fortunately, director Drake Doremus doesn't go as far as to kill off the daughter, and make this a real heavy-handed tragedy. Instead, poor Sophie gets a double dose of bad stares from both Keith and Megan when they return home and her days in America have decisively come to an end.David Lee Dallas of Slant Magazine perhaps puts it best in his review: "Breathe In masquerades as a sensitive character study, seemingly high-brow because it's so low-key, but underneath that veneer is an inert, thinly plotted melodrama premised on trite characterizations that would be offensive if they weren't so absurd."Part of Breath In's problem is that most of the dialogue feels like it's improvised. Indeed, director Doremus worked from a 60 page outline and not a full-blown script. After numerous takes, Doremus has been quoted as saying that the actors simply "knew what to say." Some may find that inventive, but I do not.As Breathe In plods along, one finds oneself mildly interested in how the story resolves itself. But once all is said and done, this earnest little tale of infidelity proves to be ordinary as they come.

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