[3] 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 wants to move back to the city and work as a musician, but Megan refuses to consider this as she disliked the uncertainty of the income and the lifestyle.

"[3] Using the same technique as on Like Crazy, Doremus and co-screenwriter Ben York Jones prepared a detailed outline for each scene without dialogue, and then rehearsed with the cast for several weeks while they improvised the words.

[4] Doremus explains: "I start with a 60-page outline that basically reads like a short story, filled with backstory, the emotional beats of the scene, subtext, plot points, but very little dialogue.

The site's consensus states: "Breathe In's plot never quite sparks the way it should, but it remains thoroughly watchable thanks to strong performances from Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce.

[7] Chitwood continued: Breathe In completely wraps the viewer up in the emotions of its characters and doesn't let go for 97 captivating, intense, and ultimately heartbreaking minutes.

Instead, Doremus steers the film with a delicate intimacy and maturity that wholly mesmerizes; every shot here is a gorgeous composition that serves the actors and story to great effect.

[7] Chitwood concludes, "With impeccable performances, inspired direction, beautiful cinematography, and a devastating story, Breathe In marks one of the best family dramas in recent years and a promisingly mature leap forward for director Drake Doremus.

In his review for CinemaBeach, Bryan Thompson called the film "an adult masterpiece that carries Doremus’s thoughtful and methodic style into something both beautiful and tragic".

[8] Thompson also praised the "subtle but beautiful performances by the film's cast", singling out Guy Pearce who is "particularly stellar" at creating the "complex and sympathetic" character of Keith.

"[8] Thompson concludes that despite the film's weaknesses—particularly the last act crisis that "feels forced"—the finer moments of Breathe In make up for the flaws, and that Doremus and company are "fast becoming filmmaking virtuosos".

[8] In his first look review for The Guardian, Jeremy Kay gave the film four out of five stars, calling it a "finely calibrated piece of work from one of the more talented US film-makers to emerge in recent years".

[4] Kay notes that while the story is predictable and nothing new, Doremus "makes it all utterly captivating" and "mines just the right amount of drama and spontaneous comedy from each moment and the foreshadowing is perfectly weighted".

[4] Kay also praises the acting performances: "Pearce is rarely disappointing, and as Keith, brings a deceptively shallow authority that Sophie can see right through.

... Jones impresses again and imbues Sophie with a wise head and a gently haunted manner that speaks to an almost prescient awareness of how all this is likely to end.

... As the mother, Amy Ryan is warm and welcoming, while her daughter Lauren, played by newcomer Mackenzie Davis, is equally generous and invites Sophie into her circle of friends.