Breathe In 2014

Keith Reynolds is a high school music teacher living in a small town about an hour and a half from New York City. He gave up a career as a musician after their daughter Lauren arrived, and as she grows toward adulthood—she is nearly 18 and a champion swimmer—the pressure to settle into a steady, predictable life weighs heavily on him. In his spare time he fills in for a cello player in a local orchestra, chasing the possibility of a permanent role that would reconnect him to the art he loves. Yet the daily rhythm of teaching, the quiet disappointment in his wife’s pragmatic view of life, and the longing to return to the city to chase music again create a simmering tension at the heart of the family. Megan is the grounding force of the household, and her steady, cautious outlook clashes with Keith’s restless artistic fire. Their relationship is tested not by harsh conflict but by divergent dreams and the fear of financial instability that comes with Keith’s stubborn wish to reclaim a more precarious, but personally meaningful, path in music.

The family is to host a foreign exchange student from England, Sophie for one semester. Sophie arrives with a quiet, intelligent reserve and a subtle longing for something she believes Manhattan could offer, something beyond the distance she’s left behind. She is not just a visitor; her backstory carries a weight that colors her present. Her mother died when she was very young and she was raised by her uncle and aunt, a bond that has recently been tested by his death. The loss has left her feeling untethered, and she admits to herself that she has not been practicing piano because she doesn’t know who she’s playing for anymore. This vulnerability becomes a bridge between her and Keith, who sees in Sophie a reflection of his own unfinished artistic yearnings. Sophie reveals that she is a capable musician, and in their shared passion for music they begin to form a quiet, unexpected bond. For the first time in a long while, Keith feels seen as an artist again, while Sophie finds in him a confidant who understands the pull of music and the ache of loss. They talk, they share, and they connect over the idea of choosing a path that honors their art even when the world demands practicality. Keith has already decided not to play for the sake of his family, but Sophie’s arrival rekindles a hidden spark in him and opens a door to a possibility he thought he had closed forever.

What starts as a tilt toward companionship deepens into a platonic love affair that is charged with tension rather than romance. They spend time together, often alone in the house, and the conversations turn to running away—dreams of a new life in New York City where music might still be at the center of who they are. Lauren discovers the growing closeness and reveals what she knows to Sophie by striking at her in her sleep, an act born of fear and anger rather than malice. Sophie panics after the attack and tells Keith that she must leave; Keith, torn between his family and the fragment of his artistic self that Sophie has awakened, offers to run away with her. They plan to meet in New York City after a performance, and their plan is a fragile attempt to salvage both a friendship and a future built on music.

Meanwhile, Lauren is furious at her father, and she has also been spurned by Aaron, a boy she has previously slept with. Her emotions flare into a reckless act as she drinks and crashes her car. Megan, hearing of the affair and fearing for her daughter’s safety, confronts Keith about the double life he’s leading and the dangerous plan to disappear with Sophie. A phone call arrives—Lauren has been injured and is in the hospital—and the shock of the moment forces the family to confront the consequences of their choices.

After Keith’s performance, he and Sophie make plans to leave, and they load their things into a car with a rueful sense of happiness about the possibility of a new start. But Megan’s message reaches him first: Lauren’s condition is uncertain, and the reality of the situation grounds him in the gravity of family life. He races to the hospital, unsure of what he will find, and Megan reveals that no one can predict how Lauren will recover. The final scene shifts to a family photo shoot that captures a moment of fragile tenderness and unresolved tension. Lauren emerges relatively well, but she bears a scar near her eye—a visible reminder of the night her family’s choices collided with danger. Keith makes a quiet, determined choice to return to his wife, choosing the stability and commitment of his family over the dream of a new life with Sophie. Sophie has gone away, leaving behind the imprint of a shared passion that altered their paths but could not withstand the weight of real-world consequences. The film closes on a note that lingers between reconciliation and longing, showing a family that may be steady again but will never entirely forget the moment when music, love, and risk collided.