Clichés undercut ‘Breathe’

When it comes to disability activists — especially those most hampered in terms of mobility — few stories are as inspiring as that of Robin Cavendish. That’s why it’s unfortunate the movie about him, “Breathe,” the feature directorial debut of actor Andy Serkis, feels so constricted by cliché.

Cavendish, played by Andrew Garfield, was a well-todo British adventurer stricken by polio while traveling in Africa in the late 1950s with his loving wife, Diana (Claire Foy). Confined to a hospital bed, paralyzed from the neck down, and dependent on a breathing machine, Cavendish was expected to lie there and accept an accelerated death sentence. But will, innovation and generosity extended his life for decades.

This is material readymade to raise spirits, but it’s complacent with its ingredients. William Nicholson’s script is a stiff-upper-lip ode with spice notes of plucky humor but lacking a messy intelligence.

Serkis is content to fill that predictably shaped vessel with gorgeous cinematography (from Robert Richardson) and performances arranged like flowers.

It’s a much more effectively touching movie toward the end, when the twin engines of a rousing speech and a tough decision achieve dutiful emotional liftoff. But in leaving out the rasp of life from this unusual story, “Breathe” too often feels like a mechanized exhale.

“Breathe.” Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic material including some bloody medical images. Running time: 1 hour, 57 minutes. Playing: The Landmark, West L.A.; ArcLight Hollywood.