The remarkable true-life story behind Breathe (2024)

When newlyweds Robin and Diana Cavendish jetted off to Kenya, in 1958, the world was their oyster and life seemed full of endless possibilities. And so it was – at first. But their honeymoon bliss soon became real-life blues, after the swashbuckling, sports-mad Robin was suddenly struck down by polio and left paralysed from the neck down, when he was just 28.

Given three months to live, Robin refused to accept his fate and defied every medical expert's doom-and-gloom scaremongering, becoming one of one of the longest-surviving polio sufferers in history. Fittingly, the retelling of his remarkable true-life tale in Breathe is both inspiring and uplifting, as Robin not only survives but thrives, going on to become a pioneering advocate for the disabled.

"As an actor, I'm always looking to be changed; I'm always looking to become more of who I actually am, through the roles I play," reveals Andrew Garfield, who shines in his portrayal of Robin Cavendish. "So, when you're in a film like this, acting out his story and surrounded by his family, you can't help but be affected.

"His story is like a guidebook – a template - on how to live life. It's all about the human spirit; that unquenchable desire to be here and do what you're meant to do, as opposed to what you want to," he says. "When I read the script I thought, 'They've really figured something out, by going through all this suffering and loss.' It was an eye-opening experience, like doing an amazing course, at university, in spirituality.

For Claire Foy, who briefly abdicated her duties as the Queen in The Crown to take-up the mantle of loving wife and devoted carer in Breathe, the chance to meet her character, Diana, and their son Jonathan – who also acted as producer of his family's biopic - was equally inspiring and humbling.

"They are an incredible family. They open-minded, fiercely intelligent, passionate and emotionally available. They're truly inspirational," she asserts. "I think it's a testament to Robin and to their love for one another that they've remained like that, despite all the dreadful things that happened to them. It really is extraordinary how they lived their lives in the face of complete and utter terror and awfulness."

"I think there's something incredibly powerful about surrendering to one's fate, and how you make your destiny out of that fate," says Garfield. "The idea is you can't live your destiny until you've accepted your fate. But only if you accept that fate is something you cannot change, can you create what you're meant to be. That's what happens to both Robin and Diana."

"I admire anyone who's able to care for someone else, for years, the way Diana did for Robin. But I doubly admire her, given the significance of what she was doing, that she downplayed it so much. She just soldiered on. That really is admirable," suggests Foy. "I remember asking how she wanted me to portray her - what I should and shouldn't do - and her response says it all. She just asked me not to over-sentimentalise it, or cry all the time!"

It's hard not to cry while watching Breathe. Likewise, it's impossible not to laugh at the absurdity of life, its highs and lows, hope and despair, fate and chance, love and loss which are so vividly depicted in Andy Serkis' directorial debut.

"I think Breathe is both very poignant and very funny," says Garfield. "Robin and Diana created lives of real joy out of loss and they made sure they were laughing at the universe, saying; 'What have you got for us today? Well, we'll do you one better...' I love that spirit of laughing in the face of adversity that they had."

One example of that absurd comedy is when Robin and Diana decide to abscond from hospital, purloining a ventilator and hijacking an ambulance, in true Carry On style, to ferry Robin home.

"Yeah, that was a lot of fun," laughs Garfield. "It was also a relief after some of the more challenging scenes in this and having to be stuck in a bed for most of the film!

"You know, it's been an amazing couple of years. I've got to explore a certain side of what it is to be alive, which happened to involve a lot of loss and suffering, or very extreme, painful circ*mstances for my characters - especially with this film."

"It's definitely felt like I've been drawn to that kind of story. But maybe I've expressed that side of life enough now? Now I'm ready for something different. Now I'm ready for a new field to play in, like a comedy or maybe an action film. Now that would be a new adventure..."

Indeed it would. But first Garfield and Foy might just have to brave another adventure: the roller coaster ride of their roles being likely contenders for an Oscar.

LOWDOWN:
Who: Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield
What: Breathe
When: In cinemas Boxing Day