REVIEW: Tim Winton’s Breath is fresh air for Aussie cinema and a world-class drama to treasure

Breath takes the Tim Winton book and turns it into Australian cinematic storytelling at its finest: mature, adventurous, intelligent, playful and calmly assured.

BREATH (M)

Director: Simon Baker (feature debut)

Starring: Samson Coulter, Ben Spence, Simon Baker, Elizabeth Debicki, Richard Roxburgh, Rachael Blake.

Rating: **** (4 out of 5)

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“There is fear in all of us. It is how you live with it that makes you who you are.”

Adapted from the much-loved 2008 novel of the same name by Tim Winton, Breath has a universally accessible, yet pointedly personal story to tell.

The message so gently conveyed is both a reassurance and a challenge.

While it is perfectly natural to be intimidated by the unknown, it is a grave mistake to never try to understand why.

Simon Baker, Ben Spence and Samson Coulter in scene from Breath.

The humble, yet hard-headed intent with which Breath explores this theme will not be lost on any viewer willing to show the film the patience and respect it undoubtedly warrants.

For Breath is Australian cinematic storytelling at its finest: mature, adventurous, intelligent, playful and calmly assured.

If you are looking to isolate the time in which Breath takes place, stick a pin anywhere you like in the middle of the 1970s. As for the setting, do the same with a map of the southern coastal region of Western Australia.

It is here we find two friends. Best friends, in fact, despite their obvious differences.

Pikelet (Samson Coulter) is just about to turn 14. He’s a good kid. A conscientious student. A dutiful son. Does the right thing by others, and by virtue of a thoughtful nature, by himself as well.

Loonie (Ben Spence) has already turned 14. He’s a likeable kid, but calling him a good kid would be really pushing it. School is a bust. His old man thumps him around. Doing the wrong thing comes all too naturally.

Simon Baker, Ben Spence and Samson Coulter in the film adaptation of Tim Winton’s Breath

With plenty of time on their hands and some of the best waves in the country right on their doorstep, it is inevitable that Pikelet and Loonie are surfers in the making.

Just as the waves come calling to the boys, so too does an older mentor who believes being at one with the ocean shapes “men above the ordinary.”

Sando (Simon Baker, who also directs for the first time with restraint and aplomb) was once a pro surfer, and now kicks back in a shack on the outskirts of town. He can sense a kindred spirit in his young charges.

As for his mysterious girlfriend Eva (Elizabeth Debicki), well, let’s just say she can sense something else in Pikelet that will both scare and shape him into the man he will one day become.

Ben Spence and Samson Coulter in a scene from Breath

However, if you assume Breath is merely going to stick to a conventional coming-of-age blueprint, you will be sorely mistaken.

In its own sweet time, the film modestly reveals its own plans for these characters, evoking an array of thoughts, desires and choices you may not see coming, but you will follow closely.

Simon Baker’s direction mines every ounce of gold from Winton’s rich words, but never in the interests of anything flashy. Instead, a small and intimate treasure is crafted, one each viewer is sure to discover, examine and admire in their own way.

Samson Coulter in a scene from Breath.

Originally published as REVIEW: Tim Winton’s Breath is fresh air for Aussie cinema and a world-class drama to treasure