Breathe

The latest example of post-apocalyptic science-fiction on a budget, Breathe leaves its collaborators gasping for air.

Outlining a harrowing dystopian scenario, this slow-burning thriller squanders a capable and committed ensemble cast. The muddled mix of shifting loyalties and cloudy motives leads to some arbitrary twists that do little to raise the stakes.

The story takes place in near-future Brooklyn, with Earth’s population decimated by a lack of oxygen stemming from an unknown calamity. For the few spared, breathing equates to surviving.

Among them is Maya (Jennifer Hudson) and her teenage daughter, Zora (Quvenzhane Wallis), who are sequestered in an airtight bunker constructed by Maya’s engineer husband, Darius (Common), who has disappeared and is presumed dead.

“We were prepared physically. Emotionally and mentally, not so much,” Zora explains awkwardly during the intermittent narration. She and Maya are both strong-willed and argumentative, trying to find common ground while remaining connected to their cultural heritage.

When they don glowing masks for a rare voyage into the outside world, they are confronted by an armed stranger named Tess (Milla Jovovich), who claims to be a colleague of Darius. She insists her expertise will combine with Darius’ findings to spur widespread oxygen renewal. But Tess and her associate (Sam Worthington) need to get inside first, and Maya is skeptical of their ulterior motives.

As directed by Stefan Bristol (See You Yesterday), the film features striking washed-out visuals depicting a stark futuristic vision of an abandoned New York City with crumbling landmarks and rampant anarchy.

However, the screenplay by Doug Simon (Demonic) is hampered by flat characters and uninspired dialogue. It struggles to enhance the suspense as intended with its intrusive score, bleak mythology, and detours into heavy-handed melodrama.

While the film generates a rooting interest in mother and daughter, there’s a lack of context and conviction in the central dilemma, as if the rules are being made up as it goes along.

Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) provides an emotional anchor as the resilient and resourceful youngster trying to find her voice and chart a hopeful future despite the harsh circumstances. She and Zora deserve better than Breathe, for which survival seems futile.

Rated PG-13, 93 minutes.