Every Breath You Take – Movie Review (2/5)

EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE is a new thriller that has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, the story gets in the way of everything and becomes predictable. The cast is good but the story isn’t. Read our full Every Breath You Take movie review here!

EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE is a new thriller that has a lot going for it but becomes irritatingly predictable. Really, I don’t think there was one plot “twist” that I hadn’t called out in advance. Admittedly, it’s an annoying habit, but it also illustrates when storytelling in a thriller is just too lazy.

The cast of this movie is good, but it becomes grossly obvious that all the female characters are there solely to help the story arcs of the male characters work. This makes for a very predictable thriller that feels like it could have been made in the 1990s.

Continue reading our Every Breath You Take movie review below if you want to know more about this movie. Spoiler-free of the actual plot, of course.

You’ll guess it all ahead of time

When a movie needs to show flashbacks to make sure the audience “gets” the big plot twists, then you’re already in trouble. Unless we’re talking twists along the lines of The Sixth Sense (or other M. Night Shyamalan movies), then it shouldn’t be necessary.

And really, with Every Breath You Take it isn’t at all. Instead, it makes me think that the filmmakers believe they have a big twist on their hands when really, it’s the garden variety of a plot twist. The kind that every Christmas movie or Lifetime thriller provides.

This isn’t a spoiler, so I figure I can get away with mentioning just one of the pet peeves I experience with this movie. The story opens with Michelle Monaghan’s character being in a car crash. And yet, at a later stage we see her as a passenger in a car for some time before she thinks to put on her seat belt. Honestly, that’s crazy!

A tiny thing, I know, but it’s used to drive “suspense” and it’s just irritating and ruins the illusion.

Strong cast, weak characters

With the cast of Every Breath You Take, it’s even more of a shame that these characters aren’t written better. With Michelle Monaghan (the Messiah series on Netflix), Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep), and India Eisley (Look Away) in the key female roles, it’s just a waste of wonderful talent.

Also, I’m not a fan of Casey Affleck which doesn’t help. He’s played some great characters (The Killer Inside Me is a great example), but he has this whisper-voice that is incredibly difficult to hear. And I’m frankly tired of watching him play these depressed mopey characters. Enough already!

Sam Claflin plays the other main male role (which means it’s all about his or Casey Affleck’s character) and I do like him. I especially enjoy when he’s portraying characters that have a dark side and it’s hardly a spoiler to say that he has just that in Every Breath You Take.

The awesome character actor Hiro Kanagawa (Altered Carbon) is also in the movie, but with such a tiny character that it almost feels like an insult.

Watch Every Breath You Take in theaters or on Premium VOD

Vaughn Stein is the director of this movie with David Murray writing the screenplay. This is his only writing credit according to IMDb. Enough said! Also, I’m actually a bit sad to see that Vaughn Stein directed this since I enjoyed (for the most part) his previous movie Inheritance from 2020 (read our review here).

On IMDb, this movie is listed under the title You Belong to Me and both titles symbolize the same thing. Women are objects to be had by men, which is actually a good premise for a thriller. Well, if you took the women’s side instead of showing these flawed men yet again.

To use a realtor analogy (since Michelle Monaghan’s character is a realtor, but we only know this because it’s important for Sam Claflin’s character). This movie has a nice curb appeal, but a messed up floor plan that even the nice interior designer can’t help much. In other words, the cast is good and so are the visuals. That’s it!

Every Breath You Take is out in Select Theaters & Premium VOD from April 2, 2021.

Details

Director: Vaughn Stein
Writer: David K. Murray
Stars: Casey Affleck, Sam Claflin, Michelle Monaghan, Veronica Ferres, India Eisley