
Although it is said losing a loved one is life’s most painful experience, there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Everyone has their own narrative and with that their own methods of coping. The latest Passionflix adaptation, The Air He Breathes, tells the story of two characters who suffer from grief but are determined to find love again.
La Air He Breathera, who suffered major setbacks and were healed by the presence of each other as they grieved the loss of Tristan’s wife and their son, Charlie, and Elizabeth’s husband Steven. According to the author of the book, Brittainy Cherry, “The Air He Breathes follows Elizabeth (Kelcie Stranahan) and Tristan (Ryan Carnes)’.
Passionflix portrays the grieving process beautifully. Out of all the Passionflix movies that I have watched, The Air He Breathes is the one that made me emotional the most. For the first time, I actually cried several times within the movie from beginning to end. When we first meet Elizabeth and Tristan, we are informed that they are each struggling with a significant loss. Elizabeth has decided to move back to Meadows Creek with her daughter Emma after the loss of her husband in hopes of starting a new life. At the same, Tristan has also been through similar pain as he lost his wife Jamie along with their son, Charlie which eventually led him to a phase of isolation and running away from life. Although these two individuals were destined to meet, it was perhaps not at the best of times as she accidentally runs over his dog, Zeus while reversing her car thereby creating one of the many ill-fated circumstances that the two of them find themselves in.
She notices the soft side that the man hides behind the anger and rage, especially when seeing how devastated he is when he learns Zeus is not going to die.
Back at home, Elizabeth finds out that her new neighbor is actually Tristan. I might just be getting ahead of myself, but this immediately throws us into an old, classic, and favorite trope enemies turning into lovers. It is quite obvious that the majority of people in town have detractors. Some people, however, manage to see beyond this because they feel there’s something good about him. And because she has also suffered prejudice from the townsfolk, she seems to be able to relate to him quite well. Everyone in the community has set a certain standard for her ever since she became a widow, which is unfair because she is in the process of coming to terms with his demise.
In a certain light, one could argue that Tristan is a bit of a hermit. It isn’t by nature but by choice that he tries to stay far and away from everyone, and goes through life rather than live it. That is until Elizabeth comes along. However, as much as he would like to, he can’t really do that. I mean, she is his neighbor. Although he does not have to admit it, he is pleased to have her around. Really now, how many people do you know who would want to help someone out by mowing their lawn? Certainly, though he was the first to say that it wasn’t a very wise thing to do when she would be bringing up the noise in the area after he found out she was also a widow just like him, his perspectives towards her changed. At this time, too, Elizabeth and Tristan discover that, in actuality, they are not so unlike each other.
Not long after, Elizabeth and Tristan meet and begin spending quite a lot of time together. He is very useful to her because he participates actively in the upkeep of her house. Due to their intensifying companionship, their dynamics change and the two end up sleeping together. The catchy part is both are adamant about using each other for the purpose of honoring memories that they have of their late spouses. What is the possibility of anything getting wasted? But you know, both of them fall for each other. Well, Elizabeth and Tristan are not ready for relationships that do not involve a deep emotional connection. They both love hard and that’s evident from the way both of them love their partners, Steven and Jamie. It was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time to see them in bed because their love for each other is so strong and passionate. To some people, it seemed irrational that they would do this but then again true companionship is what we all crave. That’s what these two were filling the gap for.
Tristan is the type of man who doesn’t give cause to question his love for another. So even though they decide sleeping together brings up too much of their hearts, Tristan still desires to have Elizabeth in his life. Even if that means they can only be friends. And of course, we all know that does not work either because these two have already been together sexually, so now they know what it is so it becomes that much easier for them. As it is, the heart is said to be a wanton thing. And it is true, Tristan and Elizabeth are in love with one another. Sadly for them, there are plenty of people who do not want the two to ever be together. And old scars are rubbed against in ways that nobody even prepared themselves for. I’m NOT going to comment on that any further because I wouldn’t want to ruin the shock I did not anticipate when I was going through Cherry’s novel.
The Air He Breathes was an excellent example of a book being adapted to the screen. Both Stranahan and Carnes acted great as Elizabeth and Tristan respectively. Stranahan was able to bring such lightness to Elizabeth there was a calmness in her performance that was also very strong. I must also give credit to her for conveying the anger in Elizabeth. While Carnes’ character begins as a rather taciturn man, he is effective in portraying Tristan’s closed-up personality, and I loved how he was able, little by little, to begin opening up to friendship, and then to love. Like I said, there were a good number of tears during this. I think it is about the same amount that I did when I turned pages in the book.
I should probably spare my words because this could just be one of the better films adapted from the network, Passionflix. It’s apparent that Director Rachel Annette Helson and Cinematographer Sean Conley put a lot of love into this movie, specifically due center to Brittainy Cherry’s book. It’s already difficult enough to bring a story to life that the author is so passionate about, let alone the fans. Book fans know too well how infuriating it can be to witness a director completely miss the mark on a book-to-screen adaptation. For romantic drama enthusiasts, and with drama featured quite heavily in The Air He Breathes, this is the film for you.
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