BREATHE IN American Independents

Keith Reynolds (Guy Pierce) is a high school music teacher who has long replaced his dream of being a professional musician – except for an occasional stint as a symphony sub in Manhattan – for a family life outside the city. It’s a picturesque life that his wife Megan (Amy Ryan) is desperate to hold on to despite the fact that their only child, Lauren (Mackenzie Davis), a high school senior, is about to leave the nest. A fragile contentment has set in at the Reynolds’ house, so when Sophie (Felicity Jones), a British exchange student, comes to live with them, they welcome the change in their routine. Sophie is assigned to Keith’s music class, from which she immediately tries to transfer. When he insists that she play something on the piano for the class, her virtuosity takes Keith by surprise and unleashes a torrent of emotion that pushes aside Keith’s complacency and allegiance to family life.