The Air I Breathe Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

A very well told story about human emotions!

First of all, this film did have problems. There were a lot of flaws, and some of the coincidences seemed stupid and irrelevant, but it does not fail to show emotion. The emotions are all scattered. Not just one person can have one, and I think that is the point of the film. My first time seeing it, i thought it was just a GOOD film. After seeing it over three times, i can really say it is a very great film. The Acting is phenomenal, and Sarah Michelle Gellar gives her best performance to date. She really shows what she is capable of. She portrays the right signs of Sorrow. Andy Garcia was also great. The direction, from a first time director, was really amazing. The were a lot of beautiful scenes, great cinematography. It is a pleasure to watch. Some of the songs played, are kinda cheesy, but those songs go away fast. BUT the score is truly amazing. It totally captures the right feel that the film portrayed. The film should have been longer. It was only 90 minutes, it was very fast paced. They should have shown more screen time with Gellar and Bacon. The rushed feeling has a positive side to it. The film never gets boring. It grabs you completely(and for some people, that is what they want). Yes, the biggest problem is the screenplay, which at times seems silly, some of the dialogue, but the film also has powerful moments and some GREAT dialogue(sort of like the 2004 film Crash). Overall, I have fallen in love with it. It is very underrated, and some of the negative feedback it has received is not worth it. See it, expect flaws, but see it expecting something big, something about human complexity, and you will not be disappointed

[Highly rated reviewer]

Realistic and severe drama

Brendan Fraser, Forest Whitaker and Andy Garcia take the honours in this snapshot involving four inter-twined tales. Kevin Bacon and SM Geller are also very convincing so basically the casting is spot on. The narratives blend seamlessly and include several nicely executed surprises, though none of them are nice! Andy Garcia plays perfectly in type as nasty gangster boss 'Fingers'. Variously the others, in one way or another, fall foul of his ruthlessness. Its intriguing and will keep you hooked from start to finish, well it did me. The violence when it arrives is harsh and realistic so don't expect any cuddly outcomes. Excellent - go see.

[Highly rated reviewer]

recommend

5 stars to the director. 5 stars to Fraiser, Whittaker and Garcia. Amazingly connected 3 different stories. Very interesting.

[Highly rated reviewer]

FLAWED BUT WORTH IT

The flaw? It's not long enough. You usually get build up to an emotional set piece in a film - and it's needed, to support what you see - but this film is one such scene after another, beating you in submission with its pace. It's also uneven; the first and last story are not as satisfying as the middle two. Is it worth it? Yes. You won't see a better acted film this year. In particular, it puts to bed the idea that Sarah Michelle Gellar is a soap actress; she shows she's learnt that, in films, more is less. It will take a better film for her to be considered for awards, but at least I can imagine it now. So, get past the shorthand method it's been created with, and you have a little gem.

The Air I Breathe

Actually 4.5 stars, this film is Magnolia and Crash on a smaller personnel scale but still with a terrific cast list. I was gripped by this film, how all the different stories combine is breathtaking! Garcia was fantastic, a particularly epic performance and allowed to really come out of his shell compared to Ocean's 11, 12, 13.

Brendan Fraser played a role very reminiscent to that of Kyle Reese in Terminator in the end, with regards to his protection of the singer. The future viewing aspect is similar to that of Nicolas Cage in Next too. Whitaker plays that superb jittery role once again as only he can and although I wanted to see more of Kevin Bacon, his acting was top-class once more. I was also pleasantly surprised with Sarah Michelle Gellar's grasp of her character and the turmoil she endures throughout, very convincing.

Not 5 stars for the lack of Bacon and the influence of other films a little too evident but for what it is, an absolutely brilliant picture and a superb debut for the director.

Boring!

Very dull movie. You can tell instantly this film is going to be a very pretentious type, that would be exusable if this was a decent movie. Nothing much happens, it certainly is not exciting. The cast is good some of the performances aren't. Go breathe air rather than suffer , don't waste your time! People are watching this purely on the names in , had it been complete unknowns in it, it would have rightly sunk to the complete obscurity it deserves. One other thing DON'T get stuck talking to the Director at a party, I've never met him but you can be fairly certain he thinks he made great art with this movie and everything interweaves brilliantly - it fails on both counts, and likely to as the film does bore you to absolute tears.

Poor

Some ridiculous leaps in logic in a desperate attempt to tie a story together. Andy Garcia stars as a rich, imposing businessman with henchmen. Again.

Even Forest Whitaker and Kevin Bacon can't rescue this one...

Waste of Time

I hate wasting time watching films that I expect to be good (lots of star names) and turn out to be absolute tosh! Not recommended

[Highly rated reviewer]

Excellent!

Superb movie that will keep you hooked right until the closing seconds....All the cast are uniformally brilliant...a particularly chilling performance from Andy Garcia & Brendan Fraser can act....Highly recommended!

[Highly rated reviewer]

NOT ENOUGH PUFF!

Good individual performances. The stories weave together well enough. But, the total is less than the sum of it's parts.