Adam Driver's Little Breath was the Best Part of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), An Analysis

I've been out of school for less than a week.

Julia Brukx

24 December 2019

Adam Driver’s Little Breath was the Best Part of Star Wars: The Rise of 

Skywalker (2019), An Analysis

The final chapter of the latest Star Wars trilogy, the Rise of Skywalker, is a jumbled mess brought on by a

producer’s acknowledgement to loud criticism of the previous movie, the expectation of a finale to

address every single thing possible, and a rushed production schedule that drained the series of the life its

known for. However, there is one single moment in the movie that stands above all others. After a messy

and confusing fight between main characters Rey and Kylo Ren, Rey stabs Kylo in the abdomen. After a

few seconds, she decides to heal him by transferring some of her life into him. He is saved, and takes a

breath of relief. This breath is the single best part of the movie, the best display of acting on behalf of

Adam Driver, and a rare human moment in a movie that seemed to not understand the appeal of its series.

This breath is so meaningful because of the precedent set with breathing in Star Wars, the established

character of Kylo Ren up to this point, and its place within the jumbled mess of the rest of the movie. 

Breathing in the Star Wars series has always served as a method to convey themes and feelings in

the movies. Star Wars is a series that takes place in space, but from the very beginning, it made the

decision that it was not going to worry about the practicalities of breathing in space. The characters would

not walk around planets with giant bubble helmets and clunky suits. Instead, we are treated only to the

wonders of what may be in a galaxy far, far away. Thus, there are no barriers to reading the actors’

expressions, and breathing itself becomes its own form of communication, because there is not a base

expectation of labored machine breathing. However, that line may obviously bring up the point of Darth

Vader, who is known for his loud, assisted breathing throughout the series. The character of Kylo Ren is

defined in his introduction in The Force Awakens (2015) by his desire to be like Darth Vader, or to “finish

what [he] started.” He even created a helmet that would give his breath presence, similar to his idol. That

helmet went through a lot in the sequel trilogy, but at the pivotal time of The Breath, it has been cast aside

for the final time. This is the first true reveal of Kylo Ren as he is, when he is not attempting to be anyone

else, and thus his breath has depth and emotion, and is not controlled and calculated as he believed he once

needed to be. It contains a little bit of a shake, something the confines of the helmet would never allow, and

demonstrates the first real time that Kylo is acting as a human, and not as a machine.

The significance of the breath is magnified by its juxtaposition against the character of Kylo Ren in the

saga so far. Kylo Ren is played by Adam Driver, one of the most versatile and easily recognizable actors of

the past few years; he’s played a wide diversity of roles, from comedic to dramatic, and is even considered

to be in the running for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Marriage Story, released just weeks before The

Rise of Skywalker. This is to say that it is certain that he can act, but his abilities have been limited thus far

in the series because Kylo Ren’s emotional unavailability. This is multiplied by the fact that Kylo’s face is

obscured for a good amount of the series due to the character’s desire to wear a mask. The role of the mask

is specifically to bar him from displaying emotions, as the characterization of Kylo Ren is to be a representation

of power, not a human. The moments when the mask is shed provide a glimpse into the true emotions of the

character. However, he is continuing to work to maintain his image. At the time of this breath, he is breaking

that down as well, and it is though another mask has been lifted, and this is the true vulnerability. Thus, the films

are finally allowing Adam Driver to explore the full depth of his acting ability, and it is demonstrated in his ability

to convey so much with a single breath, which is in deep contrast to the representation that he had been playing for

the past few films, and is perhaps the first time he is truly playing Kylo as Ben Solo. 

The breath also stands out due to its position within the film The Rise of Skywalker. Perhaps a fault of being the
finale of a saga that has lasted over four decades, the movie attempts to complete a lot, and is thus very rushed and
the plot becomes convoluted, placing epic action scenes above justification for those scenes. This breath is the only
scene that holds for an appropriate amount of time, unlike every other that seems to move way too fast. It is also the
first scene that puts humanity over action, making it stand out even more. This breath serves as a turning point for Kylo
Ren. In a movie defined by its epic nature and far too many close calls in planes and laser battles, to place such an important
moment in something with such contrast to that grounds the movie rather than allowing it to float off into space. From this
point on in the movie, Kylo has lost his cape, which had made his stature far more grandiose. Now, Adam Driver is in no
way little, but the way that he carries himself for the rest of the movie elucidates this impression, an incredible feat for a
6’2” former Marine. The placement of this breath in the context of the mess that is The Rise of Skywalker provides little
competition for it to be the best part of the movie. 

The most epic part of a 2 hour and 20 minute space battle is a single breath. A problem of the last movie in the Star Wars
franchise is that it forgets what makes the series loved. It is not mindless explosions and unforeseen plot twists; it is what those
things mean to our characters. A space movie cannot survive if it is not brought back to earth by the humanity within the people
on screen. Thus, though most of the movie forgets it, Adam Driver manages to complete that need in a single breath, without
action or dialogue.