Amanda Seyfried Attends a Screening for Her Poignant Film A Mouthful of Air

“Sometimes the stars are blocked by the clouds, but even if you don’t see them, they’re always there.” A stirring sentiment illuminated in A Mouthful of Air, a stunningly honest drama based on the book by director Amy Koppelman. 

Starring Amanda Seyfried and Finn Wittrock, the film paints an unflinching portrait of what it’s like for a young mother to deal with postpartum depression. An illness that affects about 1 in 8 women nationally, according to the CDC, postpartum depression is oftentimes an unspoken truth for many. Symptoms range from “baby blues,” wearing off after a few days to unending dread—sadness, tiredness, or worry after giving birth. It’s a heartbreaking but familiar reality for many women suffering from PPD. 

The film itself is beautifully blunt and touching in so many subtle ways. Scenes where Seyfried’s character, Julie Davis, plays with her baby are so recognizable. The bubbling giggles, wide-eyed looks, and bouncing cradles‚—everything you imagine when you think of being a mother. The stark reality of PPD then seeps in, and along with it, the realization of the steep depths Davis fights to pull herself from. 

As the lights rose within the theater, so did awareness for the condition that a staggering number of mothers experience. In attendance was Seyfried’s own mother, Ann, along with producer Trudie Styler and designer Donna Karan. A film by women, for women, the evening was electric with understanding and awe at a mother’s strength. 

A Mouthful of Air will open in theaters on Friday, October 29th.