The book is well worth reading, but watch the film first. That way, you won't be too disappointed at what's been cut in the film version. I was surprised to see this film rated M in Australia as some sections of the book are 'R' for sure, and would make it hard to make the novel a set text for schools.
The film leaves out the excellent opening chapter of the book (but understandably given the context) though it does capture Winton's brilliant descriptions of the sea and surfing: no Australian writer has done it better.
The big problem for the film (which is also fairly true of the novel) is that there is no major problem or conflict shown as being confronted and/or resolved. Even in a 'coming of age' film, you would expect strong conflict with parents (they hardly say a word here), problems with girls (his gf just approaches him and later drops him: he shows almost no reaction), or issues arising from forming an intimate relationship with his mentor's woman (the mentor either doesn't know about it or seems cool with it!) The 'breath play' issue is important but because more explicit depiction would hurt the film's rating, it's been kept largely out of sight. If the big issue is meant to be the narrator confronting his own fears, it needed much more screen time, dialogue and acting. Maybe it was a question of budgets, but I came away just a little disappointed that I had not been taken on the emotional wave (get it?) I had been expecting.
At the same time, it is great to see Australia on the big screen, so I'm glad I saw it, and I hope many others will too.
Review of Breath
