The Air I Breathe (2008)
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Cast
as Pleasure
as Sorrow/Trista
as Happiness
as Love
as Tony
as Fingers
as Allison
as Gina
as Brunette
as Danny
as Nurse
as Henry
as Pizza Delivery Guy
as Young Pleasure
as Markie
as Mr. Parks
as Banker No. 1
as Banker No. 3
as Banker 2
as Shop Owner
as Frank
as Interviewer
as Nurse #2
as Sorrow's Father
as Young Love
as Finger's Bodyguard
as Jiyoung
as Correspondent
as Wesley
as Young Sorrow
as Clothing Shop Woman
as Gangster
as Seedy Old Man
as Mr. Park
as Teenager No. 1
as Teenager No. 2
as Gangaster
as Redhead
as Old Distinguished Man
as Gangaster
as Young Heidi
as Nurse 1
as Tuddy
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Critic Reviews for The Air I Breathe
All Critics (26) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (3) | Rotten (23)
Each story has its moments, but Air lacks an overarching vision.
Brendan Fraser is Pleasure, Sarah Michelle Gellar is Sorrow, Kevin Bacon is Love, Forest Whitaker is Happiness, and the director is Pretension.
I can't fault any of the actors for anything other than bad judgment. Their performances are fine, but a good fortune cookie might have told them to stay away from this.
A stew of cheap irony, ponderous but meaningless allegory, violence and pretension, the movie is all borrowed style and calculated pandering. It does, however, get more ludicrous by the minute. So in that sense, it's good for an occasional laugh.
Ah, January, hallowed dustbin for projects half-baked, too cooked, or both, as in the case of this overstuffed actioner.
With any luck, The Air I Breathe should be the last gasp of the faux-Altmanesque school of serendipitous storytelling.
Audience Reviews for The Air I Breathe
Four stories revolving around a gangster come together. I have to quote Kyle Smith of the New York Post: "Brendan Fraser is Pleasure, Sarah Michelle Gellar is Sorrow, Kevin Bacon is Love, Forest Whitaker is Happiness, and the director is Pretension." What a hilariously true line. The film seems to want to say something profound, but I have no idea what it is. While most of the performances are fine, Brendan Fraser is grotesquely miscast. Playful and exuberant most times, Fraser is forced to adopt a stern, sullen, unaffected demeanor, and it doesn't suit him; in fact, I often hoped that he would break into a wide grin and exclaim "Just kidding" before doing cartwheels down a dark alley. Andy Garcia is bipolar, irrationally erupting into screams after delivering most of his lines in a menacing whisper, and whoever thought it original to name a gangster "Fingers" should lose a finger. I did like how the film came together. It's not near the Altman Standard, but it's more clever than I was expecting. And I also liked the idea behind the Fraser character: just because one can see the future doesn't mean that one can change it. Overall, the Post sums this film up best: it's remarkably pretentious.
Super Reviewer
Yet another done-to-death, serendipitous, connecting-the-dots kind of movie. Only reason I walked into this one is because of the names Kevin Bacon and Julie Delpy in the cast sheet, and their bit parts were over within the blink of an eye. Apparently the movie is based on some kind of theory that life revolves around four emotional cornerstones - Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow & Love. But the only thing the movie can take credit for is in taking the audience to the realms of a fifth one - BORED TO DEATH.
Super Reviewer
a strong cast and the lead characters all portray an emotion...... The four chapters are titled Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love, each has a main character known only by the chapters title.... happiness (Forest Whitaker) a down on his luck man who attempts to find happiness in a shady gambling hall, where things go terribly wrong. Pleasure (Brendan Fraser) a man who can see a few minutes into the future, but is frustrated at his inability to change the outcomes he sees. Sorrow (Sarah Michelle Gellar) a singer whose contract was handed over to the mob as part of a payoff. Sorrow is unhappy being owned by the mob, but leaving won't be so easy. Love (Kevin Bacon) a doctor, madly in love with his friends dying wife, she needs a transfusion, but her rare blood type is difficult to find. Love resorts to less than ideal means to obtain the blood she needs... So there you have it. Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love. The point is that these are the four parts of every persons life and you cant experience one without also experiencing the others.,so, the four emotions are forever intertwined within us all,ok,so similarly, the four chapters of this movie intertwine, sometimes in very unexpected ways.
Super Reviewer
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