Celebrating Our 20th Anniversary!
by Alex Billington
July 10, 2026
What does it take to crawl out of a deep, dark depressed spurred on by overwhelming grief? Perhaps a bit of happiness and joy, perhaps a new friendship, perhaps someone to pull you out of the darkness even if you don’t want to come back to the light. That beautiful, important person may end up being someone you least expect, perhaps even a complete stranger. Learning to Breathe Under Water is the newest film made by British filmmaker Rebekah Fortune, yet another entry in the growing super depressed widowed dads subgenre. An extension of the Sad Dads subgenre of cinema, defined most recently by Aftersun, these kind of movies are about fathers struggling to deal with their lives as parents without the mother being around to help out. Learning to Breathe Under Water is very similar to the other widowed sad dad British movie The Thing With Feathers with Benedict Cumberbatch, but thankfully it’s much better (I was not a big fan of that one). This one left me feeling actually enthusiastic by the end, and it’s so much more vibrant and uplifting, which is important even if it’s a sad story being told. Less doom & gloom, more breakfasts & laughs please.
Learning to Breathe Under Water is written by newcomer Richard Brabin, sharing the story of a depressed dad whose son Leo has an especially creative imagination. It’s directed with confidence & heartfelt optimism by the filmmaker Rebekah Fortune, her latest feature film since Just Charlie in 2017. Rory Kinnear stars as Peter, a successful artist who decides one day to install a shark sticking out of the roof of his suburban house in Ireland. His wife (an Irish woman) passed away years ago, but he’s still grieving, and perpetually unhappy and uninterested in interacting with anyone else. His young son Leo, played delightfully by Ezra Carlisle, doesn’t quite understand him or what’s going on with his grief, but he tries his best to navigate his childhood anyway. The film is told from Leo’s point-of-view, often featuring voiceover moments where he explains his thoughts & feelings. He also loves to go up “inside” of the shark body art installation to tell his secrets & express his frustrations. After a push from a friend, Peter takes on an au pair – Maria Bakalova plays Anya, a Bulgarian woman living in Ireland who helps him out for a while and brings some bubbly joy to their lives shaking up their ways. It’s a meaningful story about pulling yourself out of the despair of grief.
Along with films like Sentimental Value and Happy Gilmore 2, the super depressed widowed dads subgenre has two major entries recently: The Thing With Feathers and Sketch. This one stands out in its own unique ways thanks to vivid creative choices. Kinnear is near perfect as Sad Dad –almost like he was destined to play this role and didn’t need to prepare (though I hope not). This film is so bright and colorful, featuring clever stop-motion animation flourishes added into scenes. It’s never overwhelming, and could be used even more often. All of it is upbeat and kooky and amusing in a refreshing and engaging way. I actually ended up feeling moved by it –which is rare for me with overcoming-grief films these days (there’s too many of them that don’t do anything new or different). Also maybe because the cast is superb and really holds this above water – Maria Bakalova as a charming au pair that helps turn them around and Ezra Carlisle as the innocent kid trying to make sense of all these adults and their emotions. While not a complete revelation, playing a bit too cheesy at times, this one still makes its mark thanks to being especially creative. And perhaps it will the rejuvenating boost some people need to get out of their own funk and back on their way to happier days.
Alex’s KVIFF 2026 Rating: 7 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
