Trailerblazing -- Breathe (2024)

Breathe (2024) -- April 26, 2024 -- directed by Stefon Bristol -- starring Jennifer Hudson, Milla Jovovich, Quvenzhané Wallis, Sam Worthington, Common

  

Dystopian stories have been making fairly consistent appearances over the decades, covering a range of disasters from Orwellian control and surveillance in THX 1138 to a pandemic in 28 Days Later, from reality show prisons in The Running Man and to global infertility and societal collapse in Children of Men. Stefon Bristol's Breathe follows a mother and daughter as they try to survive an uninhabitable Earth where oxygen is scarce and who might be in even more danger when two strangers appear at their bunker. The trailer gives off claustrophobic vibes that bring to mind Xavier Gens's 2011 nuclear war horror The Divide, but the narrative also seems to concern itself with themes of family, environment, empathy and humanity. Director Bristol had intended for the movie to be a warning about climate change and it definitely looks like a piece that might scare audiences into action. This is the first action movie for Jennifer Hudson, whose intensity and charisma make her a natural lead for the story, while her daughter is played by the incredible Beasts of the Southern Wild breakout star Quvenzhané Wallis. Action veterans Milla Jovovich, Sam Worthington and Common join the cast, marking a reunion for Terminator: Salvation stars Worthington and Common. With a great cast and a story that is possibly a cautionary morality play as much as a dynamic actioner, Breathe looks like a clever tale that might even make one think.