‘Last Breath’ review: Woody Harrelson dives into real-life survival story

Dir: Alex Parkinson. US. 2023. 93mins 

Based mostly on precise occasions, the easy survival thriller Final Breath impresses with its consideration to element — particularly, in the way it fastidiously locates the small, human moments on this life-or-death wrestle. Director and co-writer Alex Parkinson, who beforehand co-directed the 2019 documentary on the identical topic, recreates the 2012 incident wherein deep-sea divers within the North Sea needed to rescue considered one of their very own after an underwater accident. Unfussy performances from Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu and Finn Cole spotlight a movie that attracts on acquainted tropes to inform a compelling, surprisingly touching story.

Follows a well-known trajectory — till it doesn’t

Opening on February 28 within the US (by way of Focus) and March 14 within the UK (Leisure), Final Breath caters to older audiences on the lookout for an inspirational true-life story. Those that have seen the documentary, additionally titled Final Breath, will know the end result, besides Parkinson provides sufficient suspense to maintain viewers absorbed in what might show to be a middling theatrical performer, however with promising streaming prospects.

Cole performs Chris Lemons, the junior member of a group of saturation divers working within the North Sea simply off of Scotland. Alongside the gruff, aloof David Yuasa (Liu) and genial veteran group chief Duncan Allcock (Harrelson), he’s assigned to go about 300 toes beneath the ocean’s floor to execute oil-rig repairs. With Allcock manning the diving bell, Lemons and Yuasa strap on their fits and head out, however a violent storm forces them to abort their mission — with Lemons’ oxygen tether to the bell changing into snagged on the rig. Out of the blue, the tether snaps and Lemons is trapped underwater, helplessly counting on his mates to determine how they will attain him earlier than he runs out of air.

The 2019 documentary integrated precise footage from the 2012 accident to amplify the drama, and the function movie additionally goals for authenticity. Usually, Parkinson cuts to cameras put in within the diving bell and elsewhere to create the sensation that we’re not watching a film however, moderately, ’actual’ footage of a harrowing ordeal.

That strategy extends to the narrative technique. As Final Breath will get underway, we don’t solely meet Lemons but additionally his nervous fiancee Morag (Bobby Rainsbury), immediately establishing the anxiousness related along with his job. Moreover, Parkinson reveals the viewers the dynamics of a saturation diver crew, intently observing as Allcock’s group undergo their prolonged preparations. Not not like an area flight, this work calls for experience, regular nerves and excessive effectivity — and despite the fact that we all know one thing will go mistaken, we admire these males’s know-how and calm competence.

The deep-sea pictures, supervised by underwater DoP Ian Seabrook, captures the gripping pressure. Because the storm wreaks havoc on the ship on the ocean’s floor, the linked diving bell is yanked far-off from the stranded Lemons, who’s plunged into digital darkness. However except just a few melodramatic digressions, Final Breath principally sticks to an all-business strategy, watching as Lemons meticulously places himself in one of the best place to be rescued, at the same time as his emergency air reserves drops perilously near empty. 

The movie undeniably options principally inventory characters. Lemons, Allcock and Yuasa simply slot into the predictable roles of The Rookie, The Crusty Elder and The Grump, respectively. (Including to the cliches, this mission might be Allcock’s final earlier than he’s pressured into retirement.) Besides, the actors imbue their roles with emotional honesty. Harrelson is very affecting as Allcock, who cares for his males whereas making an attempt to overlook that he must quit this job he loves. Likewise, Liu properly navigates Yuasa’s anticipated transformation from stern coworker to somebody who lets his vulnerability be seen. 

Echoes of movies like Apollo 13 and Touching The Void will be heard as Parkinson chronicles this determined rescue try, aided by Tania Goding’s taut modifying. For individuals who don’t already know the story’s ending, let it’s stated that the movie follows a well-known trajectory — till it doesn’t. Because of this, the poignant last sequences converse to one thing bigger than merely a story of survival. As an alternative, Final Breath honours the fixed risk in work like this that the worst may occur at any second — and that the road between residing and dying is all the time frighteningly slender.