As an inspirational true-life drama of overcoming adversity, “Breathe” is predictably heartwarming, but as a romance, about two people sticking together in the face of overwhelming odds, it’s downright beautiful.
The movie tells the story of Robin and Diana Cavendish, two tireless advocates for the rights of the disabled. The story starts with Robin (Andrew Garfield) as a young, athletic man, charming and courting Diana Blacker (Claire Foy). The two are married, and Diana accompanies Robin to Kenya, where he establishes himself as a tea broker.
Diana is several months pregnant when, in 1958, Robin contracts polio and is rendered paralyzed from the neck down, with a respirator doing his breathing for him. After Diana gives birth to their son, Jonathan, the family returns to England — where Robin is confined to a hospital ward with other paralyzed patients. Based on medical practice at the time, he would have lived the rest of his life there.
Diana is determined, though, not to let him wither away, cut off from life. She and Robin conspire with friends, and one of the ward’s doctors (Amit Shah), to move him into a house that will become the family’s home. A home respirator was a novel concept back then, so the head doctor of the ward (Jonathan Hyde) fully expected Robin to die in short order.
Being at home is nice, but Robin has bigger ambitions. He enlists an engineer friend, Teddy Hall (Hugh Bonneville), to design and build a portable, battery-powered respirator that can be carried on a wheelchair. Soon Robin is ambulatory, and he, Diana and Jonathan are taking adventures. The experience drives Robin, with Diana’s help, to campaign for similar devices for other paralyzed patients, to give them the freedom they have missed.
“Breathe” marks the directing debut of actor Andy Serkis, and his experience in performance capture in “The Lord of the Rings” and “Planet of the Apes” (as well as second-unit work on “The Hobbit” trilogy) transfers well to helming a film. The only obvious special effect is the well-handled presence of Diana’s twin brothers, Bloggs and David Blacker, both played by Tom Hollander. Otherwise, Serkis’ direction is perfectly understated, allowing the viewer to focus on the Cavendishes’ romance and family struggles, as told through a joyful screenplay by William Nicholson (“Everest,” “Gladiator”).
Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”) shows us the hale and hearty Robin in the early scenes, then manages the difficult trick of portraying that same enthusiasm solely through head and facial moves. He’s beautifully matched by Foy (who plays Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s “The Crown”), who’s utterly charming as she displays Diana’s endless love for Robin and her no-nonsense determination that they should live as normal a life as possible.
Weaving through the Cavendishes’ lives, toward a touching conclusion, Serkis delivers more than the usual struggling-through-adversity drama. With “Breathe,” he has given us a romance that isn’t reliant on first glances and big moments, but on the daily care and tenderness that bolster an enduring passion.
* * * 1/2<br>Breathe<br>The true story of an early advocate for the rights of the disabled becomes a tender tale of enduring romance.<br>Where • Area theaters.<br>When • Opens Friday, Oct. 20.<br>Rated • PG-13 for mature thematic material including some bloody medical images.<br>Running time • 117 minutes.