A Mouthful of Air

Tough to Find the Intention and Obstacle in this Film but each viewer will take it differently. Smart Move without the Blood. Amanda Seyfried really gets the character and her Facial expressions are priceless. I am impressed with her taking on these Emotional Roles, like (The Art of Racing in the Rain) and (Fathers and Daughters). The pace of Movie maybe an issue with Some but recommend riding it out to the very end. Sticks with you, so I may do some editing to my comments after sleeping on it.

It's not an emotional roller coaster, just a steady cruise down in the dumps. If you don't like sad movies then this one definitely isn't for you, because when it gets depressing it stays that way and when you think it's gonna get better it doesn't. I think it's beautiful in a melancholic way because things don't always end well and these things happen so it'd be disingenuous if every movie or story you read suggests otherwise and they live happily ever after. Only thing close to a fault the movie had for me is Julie's character is only explored surface level but I think if she wasn't it might've made the movie a little too upsetting to watch for people affected by or going through something similar.

Back in the 90's. Where postpartum depression was rarely recognized, women who suffered from it often didn't get the help they need. Amanda Seyfried here played as Julie Davis, a woman with childhood trauma and postpartum depression. And even tough her husband was quite supporting, something still need to be face alone by herself in order to make peace with it.

This movie portrait the postpartum depression in a moderate gentle way. Viewers would sympathize with the protagonist and at the same time ask the question about how can we help women with postpartum depression and trauma. Oh, and don't forget to watch Paul Giamatti's refreshing cameo here.

Worth watching 8/10.

As "A Mouthful of Air" (2021 release; 106 min.) opens, we are introduced to Julie, a young mother who has a beautiful baby boy and an adoring husband. Yet something isn't quite alright as she seems to struggle taking care of the baby. Soon she spins out of control, and she has suicidal thoughts... At this point we are less than 10 min into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this film is truly a labor of love from Amy Koppelman, who adapts her novel of the same name into a movie. Koppelman is the movie's writer, producer and director (making her feature length debut). I haven't read the book so I can't comment how closely the film sticks to the book. Watching the film as a standalone, I was gripped from the beginning and it didn't take me long to be emotionally invested in the main characters. The movie benefits tremendously by the lead performance from Amanda Seyfried as Julie, in what is one of her best movie roles to date, period. Amy Irvin is a surprise (in the best possible way) as Julie's mom. Paul Giamatti also is quite good as Julie's doctor. The movie is plot-heavy so I can't really comment on how it all plays out. I will say this: this movie flew by in no time (for me anyway). Last but not least: kudos for the somber piano-fronted original score, courtesy of composer John Gürtler, whom I had not heard of before.

"A Mouthful of Air" was filmed 2 years ago and would've been released in 2020, but for a little thing called COVID-19. The movie finally was released in select theater this weekend, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at my art-house theater here in Cincinnati was not attended well: exactly 3 people (including myself). Regardless, if you are in the mood for a heavy-duty postpartum depression family drama featuring a powerful Amanda Seyfried, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (while you still can), on Amazon Instant Video, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

This film is about mental health, postpartum depression. I love the way they directed the film. Instead of showing knife or bloody scene, they showed her facial expression to let us feel the pain. Such an emotional movie. Amanda did an amazing job portrait her character.