Web Series: Breathe: Keeps questioning you if what is happening is right or wrong! ***½

1838th BLOG POST -->>

This is the 2^nd series that I have finished in this isolation period of Coronavirus- Amazon Prime’s Breathe. Yes, I know, it released way back in early 2018 but as I finally got time during this phase of sitting at home is why I have watched it this late. So why am I reviewing it now? For the people who have been busier than me with other things and are wanting to know what they should prioritize while watching in this lockdown period.

Breathe, being one of the initial web-series which had no great examples to follow, is really very well-made. I won’t say it is a very great show but yes, it is something that shall make you think regularly if what is being done by one of the protagonists is right or wrong. The story is about a dad having no option to save his 6 years old son who needs a lung from any of the donors but as known, no one in India generally donates their organs. In the desperation, the father goes on a killing spree where he starts killing the no. of people needed for his son to get a donor which shall save his life. On the other hand, is a story of a Policeman who has lost his daughter due to a mistake of his and is getting separated from his wife post that. He is now all into himself consuming alcohol all the time until he gets to know about a man killing all the donors in the city- post which he starts chasing him.

The series has 8 episodes of around 40 minutes each and focuses on the main protagonists regularly rather than inserting any unwanted distractions in between. All the killing scenes are nicely crafted and makes you chill seeing how the character is killing innocent people without doing anything by himself. Genius writing there. The series gets fast-paced and interesting once the policeman gets aware about this and starts collecting clues to snatch the killer. Here onwards, the approach of both the protagonist’s changes and the dialogues, screenplay and thrill improve. The great part about the series is that even after such a debatable plot, there is no preaching stuff here. Just the story of an unusual stuff and is left over for the audiences to decide if it’s okay or not.

Talking about the performances- R. Madhavan as the father has quite an innocent face to play the murderer but with his acting capabilities, he makes you believe that he can and is doing all of these. Similarly, he keeps you confused if his activities should be termed as fine or not. Amit Sadh, as the alcoholic and depressed policeman plays his part equally well and is able to scare you in few scenes. Sapna Pabbi once again looks beautiful and acts charmingly.

Now talking about drawbacks- The first few episodes are very slow which is not what you expect from a series with a plot like this. Also, even after that, the screenplay remains to be slow at times. There are many loopholes in the plot. The dialogues aren’t very great which shall make you smile cunningly or enjoy them. They are just plain. Few scenes get predictable due to the comforting nature of the script where for an example, a crime takes place on a Mumbai road in late evening with no other vehicle in sight- an impossibility in this metro city for a scene like this.

Except these few points- Breathe is an unmissable series and you would like watching it with family as it has just one vulgar scene and minimal cuss words as compared to other series released after this. I give this 3.5 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA