Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Breathless Blu-ray Movie Review

It won't leave you breathless, but it's halfway entertaining.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 21, 2012

Looks like the handiwork of the devil himself!

It offers neither a breathless pace nor a breathless story and it doesn't even prove its weight in blood and body parts, but Breathless is a halfway decent little Dark Comedy that will at least get the old heart rate up in a few spots, whether through the sudden and brutal violence, splashes of humor, or the sultry Gina Gershon (Face/Off) at her sweaty West Texas best. The movie isn't at all original -- how many movies have been made in which violence and missing cash are at the center of the story -- and Breathless, to its credit, seems content to simply maneuver through the motions and allow a bland story to play out to the end in a pleasing yet fleeting and ultimately forgettable ninety-some minutes of light cinema entertainment. It's well made, the script has its moments, and the acting isn't at all bad, it's just that Breathless never finds much in terms of novelty, and even the "twist" at film's end isn't at all a challenge to spot coming from quite a ways away. The movie earns good marks for technical proficiency and providing baseline entertainment, but don't go in expecting the next great genre picture.

Oops.

Lorna (Gershon) lives in a small trailer in the dry West Texas desert. Her husband Dale (Val Kilmer, Heat) is sprawled out on the floor, unconscious. Lorna's knocked him out. She's suspicious that he may have played a role in a Red County bank robbery and gotten away with $100,000 in cash. She and her friend Tiny (Kelli Giddish, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") interrogate Dale when he comes-to. Lorna incriminates him when she discovers soil native to Red County on his boots. The two believe the money to be right in the house, despite Dale's claims not only to the contrary, but claims that he wasn't even involved with the robbery. Yet just when it seems he's about to crack...oops. Lorna "accidentally" puts an end to Dale's petty life and, soon thereafter, up rolls local sheriff Emmitt Cooley (Ray Liotta, Identity) whom Lorna doesn't allow in the house without a warrant. Off he goes to retrieve one, or off he goes to wait in his car while a warrant is brought to the scene. With nowhere to go and the law just outside the bloody confines of the steaming trailer, Lorna and Tiny set out to clean up the evidence of their misdoings and find the stashed cash before the law legally kicks down the front door.

For a brief little while, Breathless resembles the excellent Sunshine Cleaning, a "lighter" Dark Comedy about women cleaning up grisly messes but for a decidedly different purpose. The comp ends there, however, as Breathless takes a much darker turn towards the macabre and descends into a web of deceit, unspoken knowledge, double-crosses, sleazy revelations, and murder. The color red is a theme in the early goings, not-so-subtly signifying the death and dismemberment to follow. And that's an example of one of the film's problems. It never really efforts for originality, instead cobbling together the basics in a movie that never has any surprises up its sleeve and seems all too content to simply deliver a tired formula experience that's dotted by positives but never fully capable of capturing the essence of the Black Comedy, instead playing with all the pieces but not quite fitting them together in any sort of novel way. It can be a bit of goofy fun, particularly early on, but it's like as the bottle of Jack Daniels seen in the movie drains down towards the bottom, the movie goes from tipsy-cute to predictably dull and ultimately passes out from too much of the same formula.

Still, Breathless makes for a decent time-killing watch. It's well-made to the point that there are no technical distractions, and the flow is fine, even if predictability interferes with one's ability to enjoy on a baseline level. Where the movie truly shines, however, is in the acting. The core players (and there really only are the core players; there are but a handful of characters, and poor Richard Riehle only earns a minute or so of screen time) are uniformly excellent. There's a good, sweaty, Southern chemistry between Gina Gershon and Kelli Giddish as they literally and figuratively broil under the heat of the Texas sun and the weight of the circumstances they face. They seem like longtime friends, and even if the plot betrays some of their secrets before they are revealed, they play things close to the vest and allow the story to flow with a fairly natural progression as they dig themselves deeper into a hole from which they cannot possibly escape...right? Ray Liotta's character doesn't do much more than sit in a car for most of the movie and enjoys the cinematic equivalent of a juicy softball part that requires almost nothing out of him but that earns him upper-tier billing nonetheless. Wayne Duvall shines as a sleazy sort of character with a bad combover and a whole lot of juicy details at his disposal, but it's Val Kilmer who truly steals the show and delivers a witty performance, cranking out quick quips at a wonderful schoolboy-covering-his-tracks cadence. It's a shame there's not more of his Dale, but Breathless gets a very good effort from him during his brief time in the movie.

Breathless Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Breathless arrives on Blu-ray with a good-looking 1080p transfer. The opening shots of various foods being sliced and cooked appear quite nice. Natural details that comprise the textures of sliced meat, cracked eggs, jam, and even a scratched-up silver cooking pan and well-used burners are sharp and superbly textured. Unfortunately, some of these close-ups look a bit noisy and unstable, but the net result is positive. Once the main actions starts past the opening titles, the image takes on a slightly pale appearance that favors a noticeable but light shade of gray mixed with tan, giving the image a warm but at the same time dreary and inhospitable sort of appearance. Colors are fine under the circumstances, suitably balanced and never too bright or dull. Details are quite nice, too, whether intricate facial elements or furnishings around the trailer. In those few exterior shots, the image dazzles with remarkably well-defined (and well lit under the harsh Texas sun) dusty terrains and weeds. Light banding does dance across some backgrounds, and a sprinkling of noise is evident here and there. This is a good, even transfer from Anchor Bay.

Breathless Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A good quality Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack breathes sonic life into Breathless. Anchor Bay's audio presentation is fine within the film's fairly limited parameters. As a general rule, this is a dialogue-intensive motion picture. The lossless soundtrack handles every syllable with ease and expert clarity, all flowing from the center speaker. The track precisely places very light background ambience, inside in the form of low-volume local radio playing smooth Country tunes and outside a few buzzing West Texas insects. Most of the information remains the property of the front end of the soundstage, however; the surrounds simply don't carry much activity. Music, likewise, hovers across the front. For the most part, it's low-volume stuff with a fair low end rumble and adequate spacing and clarity. A gunshot early in the film rings out with adequate power, but listeners might expect more of a .357 magnum round going off in a fairly enclosed space. Overall, however, this is a good but naturally limited track that admirably handles its duties.

Breathless Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Breathless contains an audio commentary track, a making-of featurette, and a DVD copy of the film on disc two.

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Jesse Baget and Producer Christine Holder deliver an honest and informative track, beginning with a frank discussion of the opening titles. They discuss the large amounts of smoking in the film, background music, and other ancillary tidbits while also delving deeper into set design, the specifics of the shoot, the work of the cast, and more. This is an enjoyable, balanced, and insightful track. Fans should give it a listen.
• Making of Breathless (1080p, 15:15): A decent overview featurette that examines the script, the film's style, the setting, the process of getting the film off the ground, casting the movie and the resultant performances, set design, the technical details of the shoot, and more.
• DVD Copy.

Breathless Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Breathless plays out like a stage play more than a movie. It's almost literally a one-set picture; the vast majority of the action takes place in the trailer's living room and only once or twice really strays beyond its walls. The confined location never feels cramped or limiting. Breathless succumbs to a lack of originality and an inability to keep its cards close to the vest and not from its one-locale setting. The story's rather dull and easy to sort out well ahead of time, but a good, hot Texas trailer setting, quality performances, and some interesting characters do keep the movie flowing and firm on its feet. It's not a classic in the making, but Breathless should satisfy audiences in search of a little bloody and dark humor. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Breathless features good video and audio. A couple of extras are included. Give it a rent.