The new ITV drama Breathtaking has left fans devastated, with some calling it the’most upsetting’ film they have ever seen.
The mini-series, which is just three episodes long, aired its finale on Wednesday night and is causing a lot of buzz on social media.
Breathtaking, based on Rachel Clarke’s 2021 memoir, portrays clinicians at a metropolitan hospital struggle to cope with Covid-19, which overwhelms the wards and medical personnel.
The film, starring Joanne Froggatt as Dr. Abbey Henderson, blends news footage from early 2020 to depict her and other frontline medical workers attempting to save the lives of coronavirus victims while navigating lockdown protocols.
Doctors had recommended viewers to watch the show if they could handle it, and it appears that many struggled to get through the tragic series.
User Sam said it was a ‘brilliant series, been scary, emotional & breathtaking but most of all it’s reminded us that without these amazing workers we wouldn’t be here.’
Omar Pemberton called it ‘raw and straight to the point in depicting the brutal realities we faced during the pandemic,’ while @Natlaw111 lauded it as ‘outstandingly powerful, brutally honest, and an emotionally poignant reminder of so many moments.’
One particular scene, showing medics watching a socially-distanced funeral via live stream, reminded user @Cherish4U of ‘the horrors of socially distanced restricted funerals. It was an horrendous, heartbreaking time to be a celebrant.’
User @helentink said it was ‘so moving’ they ‘haven’t stopped crying whilst watching it,’ with Kirsty_34 agreeing she was ‘crying at each episode.’
‘Can’t stop crying. Hard watch. Absolutely heart breaking,’ Kerry Elgie wrote, praising Froggatt’s ‘superb acting’.
Jonathan Brayshaw declared that anyone who watched it without crying ‘cannot be a human being. It’s one of the most distressing dramas I have ever seen.’
Plenty more agreed, with user Nikki saying she was just 10 minutes in and ‘ugly crying,’ and Kevin McNulty saying he was both ‘angry and crying’.
As horrible as it was for spectators to endure, it was a comparable experience for the performers who recreated the awful reality that medics faced during the pandemic.
Speaking about the show, lead star Froggatt said it was ‘very immersive and I couldn’t help but feel the anxiety.
‘Knowing that every story is based on reality – that stays with you. It was just with me all the time.’
‘It’s not just a story,’ she added. ‘It’s a real story.’
Breathtaking is available to watch on ITV and ITVX.
Source My Celebrity Life.