Movie Review
The Air I Breathe
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Andy Garcia, Emile Hirsch, and Forrest Whitaker,
R. 95 min. 2007.
The Air I Breathe is a deeply sad, richly plotted drama centered around an Ancient Chinese proverb that all life is divided into four basic emotions; Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love. The film is divided into four short films, each centered on one of those four emotions, that all intersect and shape the fate of each other's main character. First-time writer/director Jeiho Lee isn't entirely successful, however, as this fiercely ambitious drama is wrought with powerful performances but little else. It is entirely unclear what this film is trying to say.
One can assume that Lee was attempting a parable on how we all try to fill our lives with these emotions.... or maybe that none of these emotions are attainable? It's a truly baffling screenplay. The dialogue is clunky, the characters underdeveloped and unsure of their direction, and yet the exceptionally powerful performances ground the film in ways it almost doesn't deserve. The frenetic editing serves neither to enhance the story nor to add suspense to the proceedings. This ambitious little drama would have been much better served with an experienced director with a knack for subtlety, something sorely lacking in this piece.
But those performances! With a cast of Oscar winners and nominees, we are treated to nothing but the best these actors have to offer. Andy Garcia chews the scenery as gangster Fingers, who is one of the few characters with relevance to each of the film's subplots, but his over-the-top antics shows him a much more dept actor than he has been credit for over the years; he knows this script is silly. Brendan Fraser sulks as the moral center of the story, Emile Hirsch babbles as Fingers' vulgar nephew, Forest Whitaker whimpers as a sniveling banker, and Sarah Michelle Gellar unexpectedly shines above the rest in an award-worthy, career high performances as a rising pop star. Gellar truly excels at the role, and embellishes it with an understated grace and innocence befitting a much, much better movie. What is ironic is that it was she who most needed this film to be a success, and it is she who will be most affected by the film's failure to receive a theatrical release. It's a shame, too - this could have been the film that cemented her status in Hollywood as more than just the star of Buffy.
Despite these unusually strong performances, the movie never fully gels; The crime isn't criminal enough, the violence isn't violent enough, and the drama isn't dramatic enough. What would have greatly benefited the piece is a longer running time, allowing the characters more time the breathe and develop as fully-realized people. The actors try to make them feel real, but we simply don't see enough of any of them to truly understand what makes them tick. Nor do we see enough interaction among them to see why their connections with each other is relevant. Again, this all falls to the inexperience of director Jeiho Lee. He has crafted an entertaining and entirely watchable crime drama, and proven to the world that Sarah Michelle Gellar deserves better than teen horror films, but he fall just short of his attempts at reflection on the human spirit.
Grade: B-
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Andy Garcia, Emile Hirsch, and Forrest Whitaker,
R. 95 min. 2007.
The Air I Breathe is a deeply sad, richly plotted drama centered around an Ancient Chinese proverb that all life is divided into four basic emotions; Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love. The film is divided into four short films, each centered on one of those four emotions, that all intersect and shape the fate of each other's main character. First-time writer/director Jeiho Lee isn't entirely successful, however, as this fiercely ambitious drama is wrought with powerful performances but little else. It is entirely unclear what this film is trying to say.
One can assume that Lee was attempting a parable on how we all try to fill our lives with these emotions.... or maybe that none of these emotions are attainable? It's a truly baffling screenplay. The dialogue is clunky, the characters underdeveloped and unsure of their direction, and yet the exceptionally powerful performances ground the film in ways it almost doesn't deserve. The frenetic editing serves neither to enhance the story nor to add suspense to the proceedings. This ambitious little drama would have been much better served with an experienced director with a knack for subtlety, something sorely lacking in this piece.
But those performances! With a cast of Oscar winners and nominees, we are treated to nothing but the best these actors have to offer. Andy Garcia chews the scenery as gangster Fingers, who is one of the few characters with relevance to each of the film's subplots, but his over-the-top antics shows him a much more dept actor than he has been credit for over the years; he knows this script is silly. Brendan Fraser sulks as the moral center of the story, Emile Hirsch babbles as Fingers' vulgar nephew, Forest Whitaker whimpers as a sniveling banker, and Sarah Michelle Gellar unexpectedly shines above the rest in an award-worthy, career high performances as a rising pop star. Gellar truly excels at the role, and embellishes it with an understated grace and innocence befitting a much, much better movie. What is ironic is that it was she who most needed this film to be a success, and it is she who will be most affected by the film's failure to receive a theatrical release. It's a shame, too - this could have been the film that cemented her status in Hollywood as more than just the star of Buffy.
Despite these unusually strong performances, the movie never fully gels; The crime isn't criminal enough, the violence isn't violent enough, and the drama isn't dramatic enough. What would have greatly benefited the piece is a longer running time, allowing the characters more time the breathe and develop as fully-realized people. The actors try to make them feel real, but we simply don't see enough of any of them to truly understand what makes them tick. Nor do we see enough interaction among them to see why their connections with each other is relevant. Again, this all falls to the inexperience of director Jeiho Lee. He has crafted an entertaining and entirely watchable crime drama, and proven to the world that Sarah Michelle Gellar deserves better than teen horror films, but he fall just short of his attempts at reflection on the human spirit.
Grade: B-