Breathe is the true story of Robin Cavendish (Andrew Garfield), who we first meet sometime in the 1950s. On all accounts, Robin is living his best life; hitting sixes in cricket, driving his convertible and wooing women. He meets his wife, Diana Blacker (Claire Foy) early on in the piece and the two fall quickly and maddeningly in love. Fast forward a few months and the pair have been married and are off adventuring in Kenya for business as Robin is a tea broker there.
During their visit, Robin begins to feel sickeningly faint and collapses with illness. When he awakes he is irreversibly paralysed from the neck down and told that at just 28 years of age, he has contacted Polio and has just weeks to live. But Robin’s wife has other plans for him.
Despite his harrowing pleas to be left to die, Diana forbids him to do so. Ultimately Robin is moved back to England where he defies all odds and completely changes the expectations for the way those living with Polio can live their life.
The film also happens to be Andy Serkis’s directorial debut. The genius behind “Gollum” has been in the industry for so many years now; it’s no surprise that whilst having a beautiful story, Breathe is also such a pleasure to watch. Stunningly shot, delicately handled, perfect costuming and a stirring score are all elements that make Breathe such an uplifting take on what could easily have been a fairly sombre subject matter.
On top of rousing performances and visual appeals, Breathe is also a factual account of a very important moment in history. Robin Cavendish was a pioneer for positive change in the way that we view not only people living with Polio, but also severely disabled people as a whole. It was a moment that spurred the realisation that disabled people don’t need to be “managed” or “kept alive” but given the opportunity to simply live.
For a film that could so easily have drowned in woe, it is surprisingly uplifting and filled with moments of humour. Breathe can best be summed up as equal parts of a love story, heart-wrenching tragedy and of course a good old tale of triumph in the face of adversity.
