Synopsis
Charlie, a 17-year-old girl tortured by doubt, is thrilled when she becomes friends with Sarah, but when Sarah tires of Charlie and looks for a new friend, their relationship takes an ominous turn.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Joséphine JapyCharlie
- Lou de LaâgeSarah
- Isabelle CarréVanessa
- Roxane DuranVictoire
- Claire KeimLaura
- Radivoje BukvićLe père de Charlie
- Thomas SolivérèsGastine
- Camille ClarisDelphine
- Louka MeliavaLucas
- Louise GrinbergLouise
Recommendations
- 90
Variety
Melanie Laurent brings a sure, sensitive hand to tonally tricky material and draws superb work from relative newcomers Josephine Japy (“Cloclo”) and Lou De Laage (“Jappeloup”). - 83
The Playlist
Right up until the film’s very closing moments, in which the carefully maintained tension and tone snaps under the ratchet of one melodramatic turn too many, it is not just an absorbing performance piece, but a film of real directorial confidence and flair. - 83
The A.V. Club
Breathe, the second feature directed by French actress Mélanie Laurent (best known for playing the vengeful Shoshanna in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds), tackles the subject from a refreshingly novel angle, depicting a platonic friendship that quickly grows toxic. - 83
Christian Science Monitor
At first I thought Breathe would play out like a Gallic version of “Mean Girls,” but it’s more troubling than that. - 80
Village Voice
It's a chilly, elegantly assured little picture, a horror story with its roots not in fantasy but in the reality of hurt feelings. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Though the story has undergone quite a few changes, what’s intact is the novel’s grittiness and emotional honesty, which more than compensates for the occasional coming-of-age cliche. - 80
The New York Times
Breathe conveys an uncanny insight into the psychology of late adolescence, when lingering childhood fantasies can combust with burgeoning adult sexuality in a swirl of uncontrollable feelings. - 75
RogerEbert.com
It's a confident and scary film.
