The Air I Breathe – DVD Review

The Air I Breathe is based on a Chinese proverb that states that everyone is connected through four basic emotions: Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love. The proverb goes on to say that each emotion cannot exist without the other. Each emotion is portrayed by one of the four main actors in the film. All four characters are not only connected by these emotions, but by one main adversary: a ruthless mobster named Fingers.

The story begins with Forest Whitaker’s (fresh from filming The Last King of Scotland) character, “Happiness” (none of the four main characters have names), a lonely, anal retentive, bored accountant who has an affection for butterflies. While in the men’s room one day at work, he overhears two co-workers talk excitedly about an upcoming horse race that will be thrown. The winning horse’s name? Butterfly. He takes this as a sign and bets $50,000 on the horse in the race. When the horse doesn’t win, he is taken to Fingers who wants to collect his winnings. He learns quickly why he’s called Fingers. He cuts off a finger every week until he is paid.

“Pleasure” is represented by Brendan Fraser, a lackey for Fingers who is highly valued in his position for his gift of seeing the future. He is recruited by Fingers to escort his trouble-making nephew (Emile Hirsch) around town during his visit. They end up at a gentlemen’s club where Hirsch gets into a brawl and is chased out with Fraser. Fraser has seen the future and in his vision, Hirsch gets caught by their attackers. Things don’t go exactly as planned.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is the embodiment of “Sorrow”, an emotion that has plagued her for her entire life as we see through various flashback scenes. She plays an up and coming pop star that goes by the stage name Trista. Her manager has gotten into some trouble with Fingers, and he takes her career as payment for his debts. Trista meets Brendan Fraser and the two fall in love. In order to hide her, Fraser keeps her at his apartment. Since Fingers trusts him, it’s the last place he would look. Especially since Fraser is heading up the team to find her.

Finally, “Love” is played by Kevin Bacon, a doctor with a long term crush on his close (married) friend Gina (Julie Delpy). He’s loved her since college and considers her the one who got away. When she is bitten by a poisonous snake, he finds that she has a rare blood type, one that is shared by Gellar.

Just like the 2005 Oscar winner for Best Picture Crash, The Air I Breathe is a story of characters with interwoven lives. Each one has an influence on the other, whether they know it or not. The overall story is very creative, even if it borrows from the idea of Crash. I could see how certain parts of the storyline could be considered cheesy. Like how the characters know a little too much about each other and how they’re always in the right place at the right time. Some of the dialogue seems out of place in order to advance the plot. The ending was also a bit too perfect for my taste. Everything came full circle and tied up nicely which doesn’t really follow the gritty plot too well. However, newbie director Jieho Lee has quite the career ahead of him if this is a taste of what is to come. The film is carefully crafted with stunning cinematography. Lee is attentive to detail and he brings out the best of his stellar cast who transcend any flaws the script may have.

The cast is what attracted me to the film in the first place. All of these actors are ones that I’m a fan of in one way or the other. Forrest Whitaker is a treat in everything he’s in. He always brings something different with him to the table. In this case, his “Happiness” character is about as far removed from his Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland as one could possibly get. He is shy, awkward, stuttering, anxious, and completely unsure of himself. Then when he thinks everything is going his way, against character, he is refreshingly unabashedly joyous. He’s one of the best actors of our time. It’s also great to see Andy Garcia again. He’s like an old friend that you rarely see, but never lets you down. He’s given free reign here to explore a gangster character that he’s already familiar with and he looks like he’s having a blast. With the exception of a sadly underused Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) as Fingers’ boozing womanizing douchebag nephew, the rest of the cast is amazing as well. The performances are possibly the best thing about this movie.

Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow and Love. Basic emotions that not only connect the four characters, but they connect everyone universally. Personally, I’m a big fan of films that present multiple storylines with intertwining characters, but I can easily see how this would not be appealing to everyone. At times it can seem cliché that everyone in the movie would be in the right place at always the right time, but I got caught up in it…up until the cookie cutter ending. Thankfully the cast is as good as they are.

Presented in widescreen with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio, this film is gorgeous to look at. As I mentioned before, the cinematography is outstanding, especially the sweeping shots of the city and the use of color. The Dolby surround sound is lacking here. The dialogue is drowned out by background noises most of the time.

Deleted Scenes that include a different point of view for the bank robbery scene, and an extended scene that shows the extent of Emile Hirsch’s character’s douchebaggery.

An Outtake reel that are some of the worst and most unfunny I’ve ever seen.

The theatrical trailer.

A director’s commentary that is much more interesting than some of the ones I’ve been hearing lately. Jieho Lee gives us a lot of good information about where the story came from and behind the scenes stories.

Previews included are: numb, The Color of Freedom, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and Che.

The Air I Breathe has so much potential. A great cast with actors that I love, beautiful cinematography, and a story that could be really great. The ending of the film is it’s demise. It tries too hard to wrap up too many loose ends and left a bad taste in my mouth.

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Velocity/ThinkFilm presents The Air I Breathe. Directed by Jieho Lee. Starring Andy Garcia, Forrest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Written by Jieho Lee. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: May 20, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.