Review of The Air I Breathe (2007) by Scarlett B — 03 Oct 2009

Let's get straight to it, the direction, style of cinematography and often-times lazy acting is what let's this movie down.

The old Asian proverbs about the four key emotions of life (Love, Pleasure, Happiness and Sorrow) is spun into an interweaving story with four characters central to it as the four said emotions. The underrated Brendan Fraser is probbaly the best of the bunch, delivering the most balanced performance of the stellar cast. Kevin Bacon isn;t far behind and although Forest Whataker is always solid his performance is played down to an almost cameo role. Andy Garcia and Emile Hirsh are poor for different reasons. Garcia seems to be hamming it up a little to much, and phoming in the 'bad-gangster' performance that he is somewhat type-cast in. Hirsh's performace is unbalanced and often-times seems lazy, although this may be affected more by the script/direction.

The interweaving story is good, but not a patch on films like 21 Grams or Babel. On the whole this film is by no means awful, as it entertains and at times draws in your full attention. There is much to be balanced in this film, an alot of levels, and for this main reason it can be demmed no more than average.