by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Do you remember when Deep Impact and Armageddon both came out around the same time in theaters? It felt odd that two movies with such similar plots and stories would come out at identical moments. I was only in my early teens when they came out, so I didn’t understand why Hollywood would allow such a thing to happen. I eventually learned that this is just how Hollywood works. Two similar ideas hatch and there’s money to be made. That’s just how capitalism works. Similar ideas can create markets for any number of people and allow them to choose which one they like better. I am team Armageddon through and through, even though I concede Deep Impact might be a better film. TV shows have similar trends, and one of the trends I’ve seen recently is about planes crashing and surviving in the wilderness. Amazon Prime’s The Wilds and Showtime’s Yellowjackets came out over the last year or so, and now a new entry has entered the field.
Breathe, created by Martin Gero and Brendan Gall, is about Liv (Melissa Barrera). She is a lawyer struggling to get to a destination for unknown reasons due to her flight being canceled. She ends up taking a small propeller plane with two other people, only for it to crash in the wild. In order to survive, Liv must adapt to her new surroundings, all while battling personal demons that continue to haunt her. Breathe, formerly known as Keep Breathing (the title changed for unknown reasons), is six episodes and is currently streaming on Netflix.
Breathe has two main things going for it as a series. First, I will give props to Barrera for her performance. She has a lot of heavy lifting to do because a lot of the scenes involve her by herself in nature. We’re not talking Cast Away levels of greatness here, but Barrera is all by herself most of the series. It couldn’t have been easy doing almost everything for the series. She did better work in the wild, as opposed to the flashback scenes, but nonetheless she does a great job with her performance.
Second, the cinematography is stunning. The Canadian wilderness is gorgeous, and props go to the cinematographers for Breathe,Jon Joffin and Alicia Robbins. The trees, the mountains, and the water all look beautiful. It really captures the beauty in the chaos of the series. In addition to the cinematography, the shots make you feel trapped, even though you’re literally in the middle of nowhere.
From a story standpoint, I question why there is so much emphasis on personal demons and flashbacks instead of the actual wilderness post plane crash. I found myself frustrated throughout the series because there is a large emphasis on making sure we know that Liv is struggling with her life and recent decisions she’s had to make. Since the series is so unbelievably short, there’s simply not enough time to develop Liv as a character for me to even remotely care about her personal demons AND her struggles in the woods. Since the time is split between the two stories, neither of them truly get to be realized. Every time I thought we would get something or move in a direction that I found compelling, it just never materialized. I have to call out Netflix for this because each episode is only 30 or so minutes long. If Netflix can give Stranger Things nearly four hours to complete their final two episodes of their most recent season, surely they can spare a little more time to Breathe for their episodes.
Because the series is so short, everything feels rushed and half baked. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the story — it’s just so messy and filled with so many different branches that the sum of the parts didn’t match up quite right. Liv has three main personal demons she’s battling, and it focuses on the relationships she has. The struggle here is that they sprinkle little bits of each relationship throughout the episode. She also has to deal with a number of elements in the wilderness as well. It’s a lot to juggle, and they simply dropped the ball.
In addition, Liv as a character has only two redeeming qualities and is generally unlikeable. She’s rude, pushes people away, and doesn’t know what she wants out of life or her relationships. Yes, I’m empathetic to her struggles, but overall, if I’m supposed to be rooting for Liv to survive, I’m only rooting for her for one specific reason that is revealed in the first episode. This reveal is rather important, yet it’s oddly kept out during most of the season. Had they focused a little more on this reveal, it would have made Liv a slightly better character as a whole.
Breathe is a sloppy show with unlikeable characters and a story that just feels like a diary entry about why someone’s life is terrible. Maybe upon a reach out, I might find more redeeming factors in it, but overall, I was very underwhelmed. Barrera is doing the best she can with what is given, but Yellowjackets, The Wilds, and even a rewatch of Lost would be better watches than Breathe if you’re in the mood for surviving in the wild. Proceed with caution if you really want to watch, but I’m glad this is a miniseries and not getting another season. I was hopeful for this and was left completely underwhelmed.
Score: 4/10
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