LAST BREATH:
THIS RIVETING SURVIVAL THRILLER IS WORTH DIVING INTO!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4
FOCUS FEATURES
Woody Harrelson in Last Breath
Ever wanted to see Gravity but replace space with the bottom of the ocean? Look no further than Last Breath, the feature film directorial debut of Alex Parkinson based on the true story of a group of divers who rescue a stranded teammate after an accident in 2012. There was a 2019 documentary film under the same name that Parkinson also co-directed about the events, but I had never seen it before so, I’m going into this film blindly.
As someone who knew practically nothing about the events or documentary, I thought Last Breath was a solid film. I don’t think it’s one of the most game-changing or emotionally deep movies in recent years, but I was on the edge of my seat and invested in what was going on from beginning to end.
The film follows a group of deep-sea divers in Scotland consisting of Duncan Allcock (Woody Harrelson-Zombieland 1 and 2, The Hunger Games franchise, Triangle of Sadness), David Yuasa (Simu Liu-Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Barbie, Arthur the King), and Chris Lemmons (Finn Cole-Peaky Blinders, Slaughterhouse Rulez, F9) on an excursion to the bottom of the ocean to maintain the underwater pipes and cables that make the world run. But when a storm hits the ship resulting in Chris being separated from the group with a limited amount of oxygen, the race is on to rescue him before he runs out of air.
The film also stars Cliff Curtis (The Insider, Training Day, Avatar: The Way of Water) as Captain Andre Jenson, Mark Bonnar (The Kid Who Would Be King, Napoleon) as Craig, MyAnna Buring (The Descent 1 and 2, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Parts 1 and 2, The Witcher) as Hanna, and Josef Altin (Dirty Pretty Things, Eastern Promises, Boy A) as Mike.
Overall, Last Breath probably won’t go down in history as a landmark in survival thrillers or biopics, but it’s a well-crafted and gripping film that keeps your interest and doesn’t waste any time. The movie is only 93 minutes and it jumps right into establishing the protagonists and getting them underwater.
It’s not filled to the brim with flashbacks showing the separated crew member interacting with family members, friends, or a significant other while on the brink of death or any other emotional shmaltz often found in these kinds of films in fact, the movie isn’t that focused on him to begin with. The film actually revolves around the other crew members racing to rescue this person and how they do it thus adding a lot of tension to the story.
The movie is basically an ensemble piece with Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, and Cliff Curtis giving great performances with varying amounts of screen time. Finn Cole has the least amount of screen time as the person who’s lost from the group, but he is essentially the emotional anchor (No pun intended) of the film and does it very well though this is not a movie that relies on the performances, but rather the tension of the situation.
There are some genuinely well-executed and suspenseful scenes in the film with plenty of gasp-worthy moments and close calls. Which is why the film often reminded me of Gravity except it’s about a person stuck at the bottom of the ocean instead of drifting in space.
Again, I don’t know how accurate this movie is to what really happened, but it really makes me want to read up on it or possibly check out the 2019 documentary. Apparently, Chris’ survival after spending over 20 minutes without oxygen remains one of the greatest mysteries in science and no one fully knows how he managed to live after enduring that.
To me, this is what makes a solid fact-based movie, a film that’s captivating and engaging but also makes you want to learn about what really happened. Add in some great performances, strong emotional drama, and tense sequences and you got yourself a survival thriller that’s worth diving into for a good hour and a half.
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