[Trailer] Breathe In
Drake Doremus' Like Crazy practically drove me crazy, embedding itself in my mind for years after I first watched it. His follow-up, Breathe In, reunited the writer/director with Like Crazy star Felicity Jones in a tale that's more realistic than most other dramas. Jones stars as Sophie, a British exchange student living with Keith (Guy Pearce), a high school piano teacher and aspiring cellist, his wife (Amy Ryan), and their teenage daughter (Mackenzie Davis). As you can imagine a sensuous affair begins to arise as Sophie and Keith begin interacting with one another.
I caught Breathe In at this year's Chicago International Film Festival, and while I liked the film, it did leave me wanting more. With the film finally releasing into theaters this summer, general audiences can catch it and make their own judgments. One thing's for sure: Doremus is one director that should be on everybody's watch list.
[via The Playlist]
[CIFF Capsule Review] Breathe In
[Ruby Hornet will be attending the 49th Chicago International Film Festival from 10/10 - 10/24. Be sure to follow along as we bring you coverage from the longest-running competitive international film festival in the country. You can find all of our coverage from this year's CIFF here.]
Breathe In
Director: Drake Doremus
Country: United States
Release Date: October 19, 2013 (CIFF)
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Keith (Guy Pearce) is a piano teacher and aspiring cellist for the New York Symphony Orchestra with a loving wife (Amy Ryan) and daughter (Mackenzie Davis). When Sophie (Felicity Jones) arrives as part of a foreign exchange program, she opens up deep questions within Keith's mind that he already had, including relocating to Manhattan from the suburbs and leaving his teaching job. However, as Sophie and Keith grow closer, their relationship tiptoes into romantic territory, threatening to ruin the family's lives.
Breathe In is similar to director Drake Doremus' previous film, Like Crazy, with its intimate look at relationships. However, he expands on his style by focusing more on the auxiliary characters outside of the main relationship. The film's perspective is still coming from Keith and Sophie, but you can still see the strife and devastation the two are causing. Like Crazy was insular, which fit the film's premise, but it's good to see that Breathe In retains the relationship depth of Like Crazy while still being able to not be so closed off. If she wasn't already one of my favorite young actresses, Felicity Jones' performance in Breathe In solidifies her stance as one of the actresses you have to keep your eyes on.
Score: 
7 out of 10