Baker lets tale breathe
BREATH Starring: Simon Baker, Samson Coulter, Ben Spence, Elizabeth Debicki, Richard Roxburgh, Rachael Blake Airs, graces and swells
“THERE is fear in all of us. It is how you live with it that makes you who you are.”
Adapted from the muchloved 2008 novel of the same name by Tim Winton, Breath has a universally accessible, yet pointedly personal story to tell.
Breath is Australian cinematic storytelling at its finest: mature, adventurous, intelligent, playful and assured.
If you are looking to isolate the time in which it takes place, stick a pin in the middle of the 1970s. As for setting, do the same with the southern coastal region of Western Australia.
It is here we find two friends. Best friends, in fact, despite obvious differences.
Pikelet (Samson Coulter) is about to turn 14. He’s a good kid. A conscientious student. Does the right thing by others, and by virtue of a thoughtful nature, by himself as well.
Loonie ( Ben Spence) has turned 14. He’s likeable, but calling him a good kid would be pushing it. School is a bust. His old man thumps him. Doing the wrong thing comes all too naturally.
With of time on their hands and some of the best waves on their doorstep, it is inevitable that Pikelet and Loonie are surfers in the making.
As the waves come calling, so, too, does an older mentor who believes being at one with the ocean shapes “men above the ordinary”.
Sando (Simon Baker, who also directs for the first time with restraint and aplomb) was once a pro surfer, and now kicks back in a shack. He can sense a kindred spirit in his young charges.
As for his girlfriend Eva (Elizabeth Debicki), well, let’s say she can sense something in Pikelet that will both scare and shape him into the man he will become.
In its own sweet time, the film modestly reveals its own plans, evoking an array of thoughts, desires and choices you may not see coming, but you will follow closely.
Baker’s direction mines every ounce of gold from Winton’s words, but never in the interests of anything flashy.
Instead, an intimate treasure is crafted, one each viewer is sure to discover, examine and admire in their own way.