Andy Serkis' BREATHE walks a fine but difficult line between feel-good and feel-bad

With a serviceable and sometimes more than that screenplay by William Nicholson, excellent performances by a well-chosen cast working near the top of its form, and very smart direction from a first-time filmmaker, Andy Serkis, known best for his computer-generated/performance-capture acting roles, BREATHE turns out to be better in every way than might have been expected. While certain critics have bemoaned Serkis' choice to make his debut directing what some feel is merely a disease-of-the-week movie -- one reviewer, for The New 

York Times, managed to misread the film so completely that she appears to have watched a different one from what the rest of us saw -- TrustMovies feels that Mr Serkis, shown at left, has done a commendable job of telling a story, with honesty and appreciation of what is a near-impossible situation, one that proves every bit as feel-bad as it does feel-good.

That situation is one of adult-onset polio back in the late 1950s that turned an intelligent, vital, healthy young man into a being completely paralyzed from the neck down for the remaining 36 years of his life. How do your turn a story like this into something an audience can not only view and appreciate but find every bit as inspiring and full of fascinating detail as you might wish? Serkis, Nicholson and their cast do exactly that, and they manage to make those impossible-to-contain tears at the finale flow absolutely guilt-free.

The journey of Robin Cavendish, played -- once his body is taken from him, with mostly those amazing, deep-pools-of-expression eyes -- by Andrew Garfield (above), is a remarkable one by any standard, thanks in particular to the help of Cavendish's wife, Diana (performed with humor, restraint and great strength by Claire Foy, below) and his good friend, the inventor Teddy Hall (Hugh Bonneville).

It is the specific detail found in that journey, taking us from England to Africa and across Europe, too, that adds such pleasure and fascination to the tale, as Robin and his helpers find ways of making his own life (and consequently those of other polio and wheelchair-bound patients) richer and more acceptable.

Simply staying alive was thought to be nearly impossible at this time. Making the lives of the respirator-bound more comfortable was not even a consideration -- except perhaps in a certain country noted for its cleanliness and efficiency, as above, where the film's most surprising and quietly shocking scene takes place.

In the supporting cast, special note must be made of the wonderful Tom Hollander (this year's BAFTA winner for The Night Manager) in the small but juicy roles of Diana's twin brothers. The finale is every bit as moving and unsettling as you might expect, but perhaps the film's biggest jolt of emotion comes as the end credits roll and we view photos of the real family and discover how this film came into being and who the person is who was most responsible for shepherding it to the screen.

From Bleecker Street and running a lengthy-but-utterly engrossing 117 minutes, Breathe, after hitting New York City and Los Angeles last week, opens around the country this Friday. Here in South Florida, you can catch it in the Miami area at the The Landmark at Merrick Park 7 and AMC Aventura; in Sunrise at the Regal Sawgrass; in Fort Lauderdale at the Gateway Theatre; in Boynton Beach at the Cinemark; and in West Palm beach at the AMC City Place. Wherever you live, click here and then scroll down to find the theater near you.

Mélanie Laurent's beautifully-acted BREATHE creates its own special, unsettling genre

TrustMovies won't attempt to define what the new and special genre mentioned in the headline above actually is, for fear of unveiling a spoiler en route. Best to simply say that this new film begins as one thing and ends as quite another, with each step along the way providing a believable and enjoyable experience. BREATHE does not so much jump genres as turn into its own, sui-generis example. In the annals of oh-my-god-how-did-we-get-here? stories, this one is a keeper: psychologically, emotionally and intellectually sound.

Mélanie Laurent (shown at right) -- the film's director and co-adapter (with Julien Lamborschini) of the novel by Anne-Sophie Brasme -- is best known as an international actress of some repute (Enemy, Inglorious Basterds and Now You See Me, plus, in her home country, a couple dozen good French films). Breathe is her second full-length feature as writer/director (her first, The Adopted, was not released over here), and by any standard, it's a good one. Tracking the life of a very pretty, intelligent, somewhat shy and unformed high-school girl, the movie stays close to the kind of reality with which most of us can identify, having lived through something at least vaguely similar while growing up.

Parental problems, peer relationships, what to do about sex, and then, finally, the kind of attraction to another person that can become obsessive -- all these are threaded throughout Ms Laurent's narrative easily and gracefully, and the performances the filmmaker has drawn from her excellent cast are spectacularly good without a bit of grandstanding on the actors' part.

In the lead role of Charlie, the beautiful Joséphine Japy (two photos above) gives the kind of fluid, moment-to-moment performance that allows us to see the inner and outer young woman equally well. Matching Ms Japy is her co-star, Lou de Laâge (above, left), who, as the new student Sarah, creates a figure of sophistication, sex appeal, mystery and occasional vulnerability and nastiness that begins to haunt us just as she does Charlie.

The more we learn about Sarah, in fact, the more problematic she becomes and the more we fear for Charlie. What finally happens may be unjustifiable on some level, but it is completely understandable on another. The movie becomes a kind of morality tale of and for youth: Your actions have consequences, children, and some of these will be unintended and -- unfortunately -- permanent.

The rest of the fine cast are up-to-snuff, too: Ms Laurent is able to draw specific and terrific moments from her entire ensemble, with the versatile and glowing Isabelle Carré especially commendable as Charlie's emotionally-abused but all-to-wiling-to-go-there mother.

The French -- ever philosophic and often deliberately contrary -- are particularly good at serving up stories that at first glance look typical, even run-of-the-mill. Then, by broadening and deepening them via characterizations and behavior that are anything but run-of-the-mill, they hook us and take us places we might never choose to go.  Breathe is one of the better examples of this. Miss it at your peril.

From Film Movement and running a succinct 91 minutes, Ms Laurent's movie opens this Friday September 11, in New York City at the IFC Center and on Friday, September 18, in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Royal. To view all currently scheduled playdates, click here and scroll down.