An underwater rescue thriller with plenty of oxygen.
“Last Breath” is the remake of the documentary of the same name, which focused on saturation diver Chris Lemons, who survived the bottom of the dark and cold North Sea in 2012. He and his fellow colleagues Duncan Alcott and David Yuasa were repairing an oil rig, and a storm sent their ship drifting away. As a result, Chris’ cable was cut and was stuck at the bottom of the ocean with very little oxygen in his backup tank.
This “Last Breath” version is not a perfect rescue movie because of how short the screenplay sells itself without going into much of the details regarding the accident and the miracle that takes place. But as a dramatization with good underwater photography, nonstop thrills, and entertaining actors, it delivers the goods. The small cast consists of Woody Harrelson as Duncan, Simu Liu as David, Finn Cole (“Peaky Blinders,” “Animal Kingdom”) as Chris, Cliff Curtis as their captain Andre, and Bobby Rainsbury as the young man’s fiancée Morag. And they all manage to merge with the real life characters and their personalities and emotions.
We open in Scotland where Chris is bidding farewell to his fiancee for the month’s job, Duncan is the veteran being forced to retire from his position given his age, and them sharing a room with the seemingly cold workaholic David. But do we get arguments within them? No. In fact, they know how to cooperate with each other on the underwater mission.
When the storm hits and Chris’ cable gets cut off, there are decisions about whether or not to anchor down. If they aren’t careful they could put the environment at risk. But the young man is in peril and there’s not a minute to loose. The movie also times how many minutes the boy has with oxygen, and how long he has been without it.
When we go underwater, it’s supposed to be dark and a little muggy, but the film does have the right equipment for us to see things a lot better than five years ago when the Kristen Stewart thriller “Underwater” was too dark and damp for our tastes. And as I was watching “Last Breath,” I was thinking how difficult it must be for these divers to fix the pipelines. It takes the suits, their tools, and their tanks for the job to be done right. But maybe their employers should start checking the weather radar more often just to be safe. Obviously, I don’t know how these people do things, but they seem to be knowing what they’re doing.
Both the documentary and feature were directed by director Alex Parkinson, and while he doesn’t provide us with enough basis and goes straight for the mission and dangers, he still makes a nice little filmmaking transition. It’s all based on how he guides the actors and sets. And I was impressed by the look and feel of them.
Harrelson meets well with age, and he delivers his character with his wisecracks and tone. Liu, who has gained more attention with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and was last seen unfortunately in “Jackpot,” delivers his dispositions and consistency in a convincing nature. And while I’ve never seen his shows nor was I big fan of his role in “F9,” I think Cole does some good work as the kid who is caught between his love life and work life, which could have been fatal.
Go ahead. Accuse me of spoiling the film in the comments section on Facebook or this website. It’s still based on a true story that still wonders how the young man this long without oxygen. And while I’m sure it will be overshadowed by “Captain America: Brave New World” at the box office, I still think it’s worth your time and money. It might get a little soggy and moist, but you’ll dry off soon enough.