A film about addiction, a film about loss and regret, a film about that first Christmas you may be nervously spending alone, Breathing Happy is a strange and surreal film that creeps up on you and lands an eye-watering gut-punch on viewers by the time the third act starts to fully unfold.
I have to admit that I was wary when I saw it was written and directed by the lead actor, Shane Brady. That doesn’t always go well. Thankfully, there was no need to worry.
Shane plays Dylan, a man who is spending Christmas Eve trying to stick to his guns and stay one year sober. It’s tough though. That pull of his addiction is given extra strength as he also feels himself being tied up in a burlap sack of grief and thrown into a dark pool of misery. His memories and feverish imagination create what could be viewed as, well, spirits of Christmas past, present, and future. Will Dylan make it to his big sober anniversary date, or will he succumb to temptation? Will viewers care?
The answer to that last question is a resounding yes. Brady has been careful to present a character who isn’t a bitterly unsympathetic, which is no small feat when portraying an addict. Addiction is selfish, it breaks the hearts of loved ones who want you to stick around and be present, and it’s frustrating and infuriating to want to help someone who doesn’t want to help themselves. It’s also a sickness, and showing Dylan attempting to hang on to his sobriety allows Brady to show his Herculean effort, as well as his growing realisation of the pain he has caused others, and the pain he has caused himself while missing out on so many lovely moments with his family.
Although he is front and centre for almost every scene, Brady also helps himself by filling out his cast with great talent. You get great voice work from Sarah Bolger, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead (two of them voicing magic doors . . . yes, magic doors), and there are excellent performances from Katelyn Nacon, Brittney Escalante, Angie Duke, and June Carryl. Each woman has at least one standout moment, and each presents a slightly different level of patience and understanding, with all of their input working together to eventually present Dylan with the full realisation that might lead to him finding the strength to survive this pivotal Christmas Eve. Oh, and I apologise for almost forgetting to praise Brady some more, he’s easily up to the task of carrying the movie with his powerful lead turn.
There are some flaws here, but they’re quite minor. I would have appreciated a slightly better score, and some of the fragmented memories don’t resonate as much as they could. These are quibbles though, and easy to forget about as you start to feel a lump forming in your throat and some dust aggravating your eyes. Which you should do, because Brady is, both behind and in front of the camera, a master manipulator. In the best possible way.
8/10
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