Film Review: ‘AIR’: Caught Between Breaths

Note: this article was also published on SciFi4Me.com.

AIR, written by Christian Cantamessa and Chris Pasetto. Directed by Christian Cantamessa. Copyright 2015. Seen August 16, 2015.

Isolation can make you crazy.

There are plenty of films that have this theme, many of which tend to gear toward the genre, with Moon being one of the best ones out there. And while isolation is a problem, having only one other person with you can make it worse.

While the premise of AIR relies on the concept of breathable air being an issue with the future of humanity on the table, when it all comes down to it, the movie is the horror genre version of The Odd Couple.

Our two leads, Norman Reedus and Dijimon Hounsou (while IMDB gives the characters names, I don’t think we ever actually learn them in the film), are two engineers that are in some sort of deep sleep facility. At the beginning of the movie, they are awoken to check the status of both the air outside (checking in via computer terminal with other similar facilities) as well as the other ‘residents’, people who – once the air is breathable again – can get society back on its feet.

For a film where 95% of the movie is just the two of them, Reedus and Hounsou play off each other very well. They both act their hearts out, and while neither character is 100% likable, there are reasons for it. Reedus is a sexist jerk, masturbating to Playboy and throwing a baseball against Hounsou’s container to wake him up. Hounsou seems a little too attached to the pod that has Sandrine Holt’s character in it, and a little too concerned about doing his job. Director Christian Cantamessa did a great job of using resources, with sets and props that look authentically worn out and real, giving the sets a Lost season 2 “hatch” feel to it.

As with these types of movies, not everything is as it seems. Neither of the two seem quite all there, with Hounsou’s character hallucinating Holt’s character and Reedus’ character willing to do whatever it takes to keep the both of them alive. “We take care of each other – that’s what families do,” Reedus’ character says at one point. In the end, both characters are not telling the whole truth about who they are and how they got this job.

There are the standard twists and turns, but the plot stays fairly mysterious most of the way through. I still wasn’t 100% sure what was going on 3/4ths of the way through it. It’s engaging enough, but there wasn’t much new explored here.

Isolation can make you crazy, but can someone else make you crazier? Which is better: to be alone or to suffer with someone else? AIR attempts to answer this conundrum, but doesn’t quite get there.

AIR is available on video on demand, and playing in select theatres. For more information, visit their Tumblr or Facebook page.