Four interlocking stories about fate, all of them inspired by a Chinese parable that breaks down life into four emotions, Happiness, Sorrow, Pleasure and Love. In one, a timid banker (Oscar-winner Forrest Whitaker) bets everything on a horse race only to lose, suddenly finding himself under the thumb of a violent crime boss (Andy Garcia). Another finds the underworld kingpin’s pre-cognizant enforcer (Brendan Fraser) escorting the man’s infantile nephew (Emile Hirsch) on his nightly duties only to discover he might be able to see into the future but he can’t predict his own heart’s desires.

The third involves an emotionally fragile pop star (Sarah Michelle Gellar) who suddenly finds herself being protected by the psychic hitman after she’s traded to his employer in order to cover her former manager’s debts. The final vignette involves a driven emergency room doctor (Kevin Bacon) whose first love (Julie Delpy), who just happens to be married to his plastic surgeon best friend (Clark Gregg), stumbles into his hospital on the verge of death and the suicidal singer’s blood is the key to her survival.

CRITIQUE

First things first, everyone in director Jieho Lee’s intriguing melodramatic mood piece The Air I Breathe is exceptional. Up and down the line, all of the actors do exemplary work, and while some have more to do then others no one appearing in this film could ever be mistaken for phoning their performance in. Gellar, Garcia and especially Fraser are particularly excellent; each of them having a moment or two of such unbridled emotional clarity a viewer can’t help but be impressed.

Unfortunately for them (and even more unfortunate for the viewer) the rest of the film is a bit of an unfocused and preposterous mess. Lee and co-writer Bob DeRosa have some neat ideas, craft some intriguing characters and setup some beguiling scenarios but they can’t compile any of them into a narrative worthy of serious attention.

What’s the problem? None of the shorts work in tandem in a way that’s emotionally compelling. There is an idiotic pretension to all of it that borders, at times, on the laughable, and no matter how much conviction the actors have in attempting to bring their bits in this increasingly frustrating doll house to life it isn’t enough to warrant trying to take the effort to watch the darn thing in its entirety.

Not that Lee doesn’t show promise. He has a way behind the camera that’s, at times, quite impressive, the whole sequence with Fraser and Hirsch infused with a kinetic intensity that’s downright stunning. I also loved bits and pieces of the three-way showdown involving the former, Gellar and Garcia, all of it leading up to a shocking bit of gunplay I can’t really say I saw coming.

It just isn’t enough, however, the majority of The Air I Breathe a ponderous exercise in tedium that left me tiredly exasperated. The whole scenario bruised and battered me to the point of frustrated indifference, and whatever point it was the filmmakers were trying to make about Happiness, Sorrow, Pleasure and Love truth be told I couldn’t decipher it.

THE VIDEO

On a visual front, The Air I Breathe gets a passing marks and nothing else. The image is good, but nowhere near as wonderful as the ones I’ve gotten used to seeing on my Blu-ray player. Presented in 1080p 2.40:1 Widescreen, this is a solid transfer but not one likely to win any new converts to the format.

THE AUDIO

Available audio tracks include both DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English, English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

The only extra of note is the audio commentary track from Lee, DeRosa, director of photography Walt Lloyd and editor Robert Hoffman. Not a great track, except for the few moments that Lloyd is allowed to speak. He’s admittedly a fascinating listen, one of the film’s chief delights is the man’s spectacular widescreen cinematography.

In all honesty, I would have loved to have had a solo track featuring him and him alone. Lloyd knows his stuff and in the few moments he’s actually allowed by Lee and DeRosa to speak freely he grants wonderful insights into his process and how certain sequences and shots were achieved. For that reason alone, I almost say give the commentary a listen, just don’t come crying to me when you realize the other three have almost nothing of interest to say.

The other extras include the film’s okay theatrical trailer, a collection of relatively amusing Outtakes and a couple of perfectly uninteresting Deleted Scenes.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Great performance, one solid surprise and some great photography aside, there isn’t a real solid reason to try and convince someone to take the time to watch The Air I Breathe. The movie doesn’t gel into a cohesive whole and it has thematic problems that undermine the entire concept pretty much start to finish. Fans of the actors might want to take a look but as far as everyone else is concerned I’d sadly say give this one a pass.