EIFF 2013: I Am Breathing Review

Director: Emma Davie, Morag McKinnon.

Starring: Neil Platt, Louise Platt, Oscar Platt.

Running Time: 72 minutes.

Synopsis: Neil Platt looks back at his life, wondering what questions his young son would want answering about his father. Not knowing how long he has left to live, Neil constantly updates a blog to raise awareness for motor neurone disease.

When architect Neil Platt was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2008 at the age of 33, old wounds were opened as his family realised they could lose him to the very disease that took his father. Choosing to write a blog to document his daily struggle from the first day of diagnosis, I AM BREATHING gives unparalleled, funny and devastating access to one of the most undignified assaults on the human body.

Directors Davie and McKinnon turn their touching film into an essential education about a disease people have a lot of ignorance about. Essentially cutting off the messages that tell your muscles what to do, we are treated to an intimate portrait of a man who we see mountain climbing, partying and playing the Wii with gusto only a year before his tragic discovery.

Opening with Neil’s frustrations over the voice recognition software he uses to write his blog posts, we are immediately introduced to his dark sense of humour. Though it could easily be viewed as a coping mechanism, spliced in footage from the past shows him as the constant life and soul of the party, not even letting his terrible disease stop him from living his life by throwing himself into raising awareness about MND.

A father and husband to Oscar and Louise, his family are very much involved in the film, with Oscar stealing the show with his blond hair and adorable, nonsensical gurgling. His wife is nothing short of a saint, continuing to help him write blog posts even in his darkest hour and allowing Neil to save her by focusing on his want to help others suffering like him.

Essentially a love letter to young Oscar, blog post-style chapters provide a neat framing device when relaying text from Neil’s online updates. Explaining how he met his wife and ultimately had his son, an illustration of the house they moved into is an effective, bittersweet technique that reminds us how he can no longer use his hands for work.

Neil’s sense of humour and bundle of fun, Oscar, keep I AM BREATHING from being a harrowing account of the breaking down of a man before our eyes. ‘What ifs’ may be distressing and heartbreaking, but this is no emotionally manipulative documentation; this is a beautiful way to raise awareness of a devastating illness and celebrate the life of Neil Platt.