A botched attempt to remake Jean-Luc Godard's classic
nouvelle vague entry, Á Bout de souffle, Breathless follows Jesse (
Richard Gere), a fugitive wanted for the murder of a police officer. In the course of his flight from the law, he hitches up with a beautiful French college student (the stunning Valerie Kaprisky), and together the two attempt to escape to Mexico. From start to finish, Breathless places style over substance; the film is almost insufferably hip, although its hipness now seems more dated than a time capsule. More attention seems paid to wardrobe, set design and soundtrack than anything else, yet it lacks any of the stark visual impact the original managed to achieve. Gere is passable as the sociopathic killer (although he relies on shirtlessness to carry him through much of the film), but Kaprisky, though beautiful, demonstrates limited acting range. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide