Soulful and musical British exchange student Sophie Williams comes to New York in search of inspiration. On the surface, Sophie’s host family seems happy enough, but with her arrival to the Reynolds’ Upstate New York home, the private struggles of each family member begin to bubble. In particular, frustrated musician-turned-piano- teacher Keith Reynolds finds long suppressed dreams and desires reignited by Sophie’s talent and inquisitive nature. While Keith’s wife, Megan and daughter, Lauren focus on Lauren’s final year of high school, Sophie and Keith are drawn ever closer by their mutual longing for creative expression. Ultimately, Sophie and Keith must confront how much they are willing to sacrifice and what they truly want out of life.
For thoughts on Breathe In, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
[youtube https://youtu.be/LdTzEUEuG24?t=5394]
Video Quality
Breathe In comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is fetching across the board. The film does not get too adventurous with its cinematography, choosing a lot of close-up shots and more of a handheld feel as if you are just over the character’s shoulder. The colors are given an intentionally suppressed appearance to complement some of the themes at play. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around with impressive details apparent in close-ups. The white levels are strong without veering into blooming, and the blacks only appear the slightest bit murky at points without suffering from any compression artifacts. The natural environments pop off the screen with an incredible amount of detail and dimension. There are no instances of intrusive digital noise in the presentation outside of a few brief moments against certain backgrounds. Cohen Media Group has delivered a pleasing presentation.
Audio Quality
The film comes to Blu-Ray with a well appointed DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in the original English. The movie does feature some minor disagreements, but the calm moments make up the lion’s share of the film as they provide environmental activity which comes through particularly well. The longing score underlines the heightened emotions as it flows through with notable fidelity. The dialogue and sound effects such as rain are perfectly balanced with competing elements where nothing gets lost in the mix. The low end of the track never really does more than add a bit of base texture to certain scenes. Surround channels get some activity from the din of the fans at the swim meet and various environmental noises. There is nothing at fault with this track.
Special Features
- The Making Of Breathe In: A ten-minute piece which features some interviews with the cast and creative team as they delve into the thematic layers of the story, the improvisation during production, finding the truth of the narrative and more.
- Interview with Drake Doremus: A four-minute piece in which Doremus discusses creating the role for Felicity Jones, the background of the characters, having the performers be in the moment and more.
- Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Breathe In is an emotional story of longing and discontent as realized by a core group of characters who are all flawed in their own ways. The main mark against this story is that it is fairly predictable in many regards, or at least familiar to most. What saves it from being something completely forgettable is the terrific performances from all four of your main plays, along with the care taken not to devolve into a series of salacious moments. The attention to these characters as three dimensional figures is certainly appreciated. Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have released a Blu-Ray featuring top-notch A/V presentation and a couple of decent special features. If you are a sucker for stories of desire and longing, or the performers in general, this one is worth a watch. Recommended
Breathe In is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
