Breathe In

Breathe In is a 2013 American romantic drama film co-written with Ben York Jones and directed by Drake Doremus, starring Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, and Amy Ryan. It follows a high school music teacher who has an affair with a foreign exchange student from England who is his daughter's age, stemming from his disillusion with life and their shared love of music. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2013, the director's third film to play there. Plot Keith Reynolds is a high school music teacher married to Megan and living in a small town an hour and half from New York City. He gave up a career as a musician following the arrival of their daughter. Lauren is very nearly 18 and is a champion swimmer. In his spare time, he substitutes for a cello player in an orchestra and is applying for a permanent role. Keith finds his life frustrating, resents his job as a teacher, and his wife's dismissal of his music playing. He wants to move back to the city and work as a musician, but his wife Megan refuses to consider this as she disliked the uncertainty of the income and the lifestyle. The family is to host a foreign exchange student from England, Sophie, for one semester. When Sophie arrives, she is disappointed by the distance from Manhattan which she wanted to visit. Sophie's mother died when she was very young and she was raised by her uncle and aunt. Her uncle introduced her to the piano but has recently died, affecting Sophie badly. Sophie tells her aunt that she is not practicing her music because she does not know who she is playing for anymore. Sophie reveals to Keith that she is an accomplished musician and they bond over their mutual interest. While they are alone at the house, she tells Keith about the death of her uncle and that she wants to choose to play music. Sophie is unsure and has lost her purpose following her uncle's death, so she does not play. Keith has chosen not to play for the sake of his family.