Every Breath You Take (film)

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Every Breath You Take
Every Breath You Take.jpeg
Official release poster
Directed byVaughn Stein
Written byDavid Murray
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMichael Merriman
Edited byLaura Jennings
Music byMarlon Espino
Production
companies
Distributed byVertical Entertainment
Release date
  • April 2, 2021 (2021-04-02) (United States)
Running time
105 minutes[1][2]
Countries
  • United States
  • Germany
LanguageEnglish
Box office$338,771[1]

Every Breath You Take, also known as You Belong to Me, is a 2021 psychological thriller film directed by Vaughn Stein and written by David Murray. It stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Claflin, and Veronica Ferres. It follows a psychiatrist whose life is disrupted after introducing a client's brother to his family following the client's death.

It was released on April 2, 2021, by Vertical Entertainment.

Plot[]

Philip Clark is a psychiatrist who lives a peaceful life with his wife Grace and daughter Lucy while grieving the death of his son in a car accident three years ago. Among Philip's clients is a girl named Daphne who has dealt with depression and an abusive boyfriend, who she was able to leave with the support of Philip's therapy. In a session, she discusses her brother, who she describes as "charming and intuitive" and confides in him about her regrets for negative behavior towards him. The apparently recovered Daphne is writing a book about her illness, which caused several suicide attempts and a stay at a psychiatric facility for over a year.

Philip receives a call from Daphne, who tells him that her best friend Joan was killed in a hit-and-run accident. Later, Daphne is found dead outside her house; Philip comforts her brother, James Flagg, who arrives at the scene extremely distraught. The next evening, James drops by Philip's house to drop off a book Daphne had borrowed, and Philip's sympathetic wife Grace (Michelle Monaghan) invites him to stay for dinner. Philip learns that James had written several books and is interested in buying one called Shadow Cast, which will take two weeks to arrive. Dr. Vanessa Fanning confronts Philip for his unconventional methods that led to Daphne's death, including confiding things in her he had not shared with his family.

Grace secretly meets James to discuss selling his sister's house. They are clearly attracted to each other, and Grace confides in James that despite his profession, Philip has been unable to address the pain of losing their son and their marriage is distant. Philip seems to recognize an inappropriate connection between them and asks James to stay away from his family. Grace goes to see James again anyway and despite her attempts to break off their connection, they have sex. James then files a formal complaint to the Washington Board of Psychiatry against Philip and he is suspended from his practice until his client is fully investigated.

James also befriends Lucy, who has a history of discipline problems stemming from her grief over losing her brother and her emotional distance from her father and stepmother. James is charming and supportive to Lucy, and they form a romantic connection. She expresses a desire to run away, and he tells her to pack her bags so they can do so together, but he then ignores her phone calls and texts. Lucy is heartbroken and distraught as a result.

While on the road, James knocks Grace unconscious and attempts to stage an accident by deliberately driving towards the passing truck. Having realized something amiss while on the phone with Grace earlier, Philip catches them in time and saves her. At home, Grace and Philip tell Lucy that James is a sick and dangerous man but Lucy does not believe them. Philip receives a call from Doctor Toth who tells Philip that James admitted himself to the psychiatry facility due to auditory hallucinations and he wants Philip to talk with James. At the hospital, Philip confronts James, who admits that he read Daphne's book covering about her session experiences with Philip, as well as Philip's family background. As he is escorted back into his cell, James maniacally tells Philip that he "still smells" Grace.

Philip finally receives the book where he finds the real James Flagg on the back cover. Philip realizes that "James Flagg"'s real name is Eric Dalton and Daphne was in fact his girlfriend. He is not a writer but rather a psychotic person and he is the one who staged Joan's death to make Daphne distraught in order to take him back. When Daphne refuses, Dalton murders Daphne, staging it to make it look a suicide. Philip calls Toth about Dalton's true nature and orders him to lock him down but it is too late; Dalton has already escaped. Realizing that Dalton is going after Lucy, Philip and Grace race back to their house, where "James" arrives first before them and attacks Lucy. Philip and Grace arrive and, after the struggle with Dalton, Grace kills him. The three embrace as the police sirens approaching.

Cast[]

Production[]

In June 2012, it was announced Rob Reiner would direct the film, at that time titled You Belong to Me, from a screenplay by David Murray.[3] In October 2012, it was announced Harrison Ford and Zac Efron had joined the cast of the film.[4] In October 2019, it was announced Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Claflin and Veronica Ferres were cast in the film, and that Christine Jeffs would be directing.[5] In December 2019, it was announced Vaughn Stein would replace Jeffs as director who dropped out.[6]

Filming[]

Principal photography began in Vancouver in December 2019.[7]

Release[]

In March 2021, Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film,[8] and set its release in US theaters and on VOD for April 2, 2021.[2][9]

Reception[]

Box office[]

Every Breath You Take grossed a worldwide total of $338,771.[1]

Critical response[]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 21% approval rating based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Despite the A-list talent involved, Every Breath You Take never amounts to much more than a thuddingly familiar psychological thriller".[9] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 32 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[10]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Every Breath You Take (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDbPro. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Every Breath You Take (2021) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Kit, Borys (June 22, 2012). "Rob Reiner to Direct Thriller 'You Belong to Me' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  4. ^ Foreman, Liza (October 31, 2012). "Harrison Ford, Zac Efron Circling 'You Belong To Me' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  5. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 31, 2019). "Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan & Sam Claflin Board 13 Films' Thriller 'Every Breath You Take' – AFM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  6. ^ Kit, Borys (December 10, 2019). "'Terminal' Director Boards Psychological Thriller 'Every Breath You Take' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  7. ^ Takeuchi, Craig (December 2, 2019). "Filming in Vancouver: Henry Golding, Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan and Iko Uwais and more". Inside Vancouver. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  8. ^ Hipes, Patrick (March 8, 2021). "Casey Affleck Thriller 'Every Breath You Take' Lands At Vertical For April U.S. Bow". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Every Breath You Take (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  10. ^ "Every Breath You Take Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 16, 2021.

External links[]

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