Last Breath, 2025.
Directed by Alex Parkinson.
Starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, Cliff Curtis, Bobby Rainsbury, Nick Biadon, Connor Reed, Riz Khan, MyAnna Buring, Mark Bonnar, Josef Altin, Claudiu Baciu, Brett Murray, Aldo Silvio, Kevin Naudi, Daithí O’Donnell, Christian Scicluna.
SYNOPSIS:
A true story that follows seasoned deep-sea divers as they battle the raging elements to rescue their crew mate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface.
It’s not unusual for Hollywood to come across a remarkable documentary and translate it into a feature film, typically expanding on certain elements. Strangely, Last Breath isn’t just somewhat of a redo, now with obligatory emotional manipulation, but also comes from Alex Parkinson, the director of that documentary. No movie is ever necessary per se, but watching this, there is a persistent thought of “Why does this exist?” and “Why would anyone choose this superficial retelling of this event over the already thorough and intense documentary?”
Perhaps Alex Parkinson (co-writing alongside Mitchell LaFortune and David Brooks) simply wants more eyes on the story or more of society attuned to the dangers of deep-sea diving pipeline maintenance work. Considering that the characterization of the three central divers doesn’t go beyond the surface level and that this narrative version refuses to commit to doing anything outside the box with this true story, it does feel like a diminished-returns experience of that documentary. Maybe the sole exception are diehard Woody Harrelson fans, but he never enters the water, so those people should temper their expectations.
Joking aside, none of this is to say Last Breath is a bad film; it’s not. This is entirely serviceable for anyone unfamiliar with the true story or documentary, portraying the bottom of the ocean as a vast and dark, terrifying space. Every so often, deep-sea divers are contracted to go roughly 300 feet down under while wearing protective gear and oxygen tanks to perform maintenance on pipelines critical to citywide infrastructure. Woody Harrelson’s Duncan Allock is the aging veteran being phased out of the job against his will. His partners for this particular job are Simu Liu’s laser-focused personal-life-goes-out-the-door-minded Dave Yuasa and the young and engaged Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), aware that the work is life-risking yet still shows up to jobs with a rookie naivety, typically all smiles greeting any of the more serious-minded faces he comes into contact with.
They are one of several paired groups, shuffled into “bells” functioning as underwater vessels attached to a ship. There are kitchens, bedrooms, and a designated area to dive into the water when it’s time. On the first day of this particular job, severe thunderstorms cause problems for the ship and its electronics and communication systems. More concerning, disaster strikes when Chris becomes entangled in some gear, is separated from Dave while trying to climb back into the bell, and is left with only eight minutes of backup oxygen to use sparingly while awaiting a return rescue mission.
The misstep here is that the filmmakers never skip a chance to play up the more clichéd aspects with melodrama. While passing out from lack of oxygen, Chris recalls conversations with his fiancée Morag (Bobby Rainsbury). Duncan talks of a harrowing time when something similar happened and how he couldn’t locate the last remaining dead body but swears no one will be dying today, and Dave remains stoic and prepared if a rescue opportunity arises. Whether he has a chance to do so comes down to whether or not the ship crew can find some manual workarounds to their technology, which isn’t as compelling as endangered lives down under but is nevertheless rewarding from a problem-solving perspective.
Instead of posing deeper questions about this line of work or diving into the psyche, Last Breath is content not only leaning into but milking a certain aspect here for all it’s worth. There is arguably more to all of this than whether Chris lives or dies, and while there are some effective thrills here played out against a beautifully terrifying backdrop enveloped in darkness (one character quips it’s like going to the moon, but the bottom of the ocean), it’s disappointingly narratively limited.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
