‘Breathe’ is the directorial debut of motion capture wizard and all around amazing actor Andy Serkis. As a massive fan of Serkis (and other cast members), a movie buff and a person with disabilities, I was pretty much obliged to see the film. I must report back however that the depiction of disability left me a bit disappointed. Be warned, this article contains spoilers.

What’s it all about?

The film tells the story of Robin Cavendish who becomes paralysed from the neck down after being diagnosed with polio in the mid-1950s. He subsequently became one of the first people with his condition to live outside of a hospital, with his family, thanks to the use of a respirator until his death in the 1980s. A dedicated campaigner for better care for people with severe disabilities, he volunteered as a test subject for one of the first electric wheelchairs.

In fairness to ‘Breathe’ it is not, objectively, a bad film. It’s incredibly well shot, acted and directed but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that its representation of disability was too one-dimensional, which makes it difficult for me to recommend the film.

Act One – Objectifying grief

The first act is a little strange to watch. The setup of characters is minimal and within 15 minutes Robin has fallen ill and been diagnosed with polio. The rest of the first act is about his wife speaking to doctors and essentially being told that her husband has no real chance of survival outside of a hospital.

The film pretty much dives straight into the disability/grief/illness angle and unlike James Marsh's recent Stephen Hawking movie ‘The Theory of Everything’, it doesn't really take time to establish relationships between characters outside of the parameters of disability. It feels like you're watching the film backwards and this should be the third act. The scenes in which Robin's wife talks to his doctor are prime examples of what some would call "grief porn”. It treats disability as little more than a plot device while objectifying it for an easy emotional response. This is incredibly awkward to watch given the film has been marketed as the inspirational story of a struggle with disability and yet the opening act of the film suggest the exact opposite.

Act Two – a half-hearted stab at reality

Act two improves a little and offers a slightly more rounded and realistic depiction of disability - Robin wakes up from a coma and in a series of scenes he and his wife eventually convince doctors that it is possible for him to live at home using a respirator to do his breathing for him. With Robin now effectively able to communicate with others despite his paralysis, he goes home to live with his family.

Obviously, carers play an important part in the lives of people who have severe disabilities but this film was clearly aiming for something it never quite achieved. The film only shows in a light and superficial way the real nature of caring for someone who is so completely reliant on others for basic day-to-day stuff. In a scene near the end of the film, Robin is at a conference and says that he could not have lived his life as a severely disabled person in the way he has without the support of great family and friends. This is a moment that was in all the trailers and is something I know from personal experience as a disabled person, but it's not really something the film earns the right to say based on the content it has shown its audience.

Act Three - The Invention of the Electric Wheelchair

The saving grace of ‘Breathe´ is the third act which offers a fairer and more balanced representation of disability. The historical context is genuinely interesting also. With the help of a friend who is a university professor, Robin volunteers to be the test subject for one of the first electric wheelchairs and attaches his respirator to it. The rest of the film charts his life travelling the world, campaigning for better care for people who have severe disabilities, and his eventual death. The success of the prototype trial prompts the roll out of the modern electric wheelchair. By the time Robin passes away (the scenes are handled very respectfully) he was considered something of a medical miracle having lived as long as he had and wielded such an influence.

‘Breathe’ tries very hard to present both an inspiring triumph over disability and the medical miracle that is Robin Cavendish for his time. It only really achieves half of that. As much as the medical miracle side of the story is effective, the film’s fundamentally frustrating and audience-friendly representation of disability means it cannot be effective as an honest story of overcoming adversity. This being said, if the film proves anything it’s that Andy Serkis could be a great director with some less one-dimensional material (as well-intentioned as the film is).