‘Last Breath’ Review: Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu in a Taut Deep-Sea Survival Nail-Biter

People who go through harrowing experiences of survival should look on the bright side. In the not-too-distant future, a good-looking movie star will likely be playing you on the big screen. That probably wasn’t going through the heads of the three central figures depicted in Last Breath, about the desperate efforts to rescue a deep-sea diver trapped below the water’s surface without oxygen. But they can take satisfaction that their story has been grippingly told in this taut adventure thriller, which admirably pares down its story to the bare essentials.

Unlike many films of this type, Last Breath — based on a similarly titled 2019 documentary from the same director, Alex Parkinson — doesn’t waste any time getting to the main event. There’s a brief set-up, in which we’re introduced to the youngest diver, Chris Lemons (Finn Cole, Peaky Blinders, Animal Kingdom), who says goodbye to his nervous fiancée (Bobby Rainsbury) before joining his colleagues Duncan Allock (Woody Harrelson) and Dave Yuasa (Simu Liu) on a ship headed on a repair mission deep underwater in the Black Sea.  

The men’s personalities are conveyed in quick and efficient brush strokes. Chris is young and eager to impress; Duncan, who’s being reluctantly put out to pasture after this last mission, is jokey and irreverent (not a stretch for Harrelson); and Dave is ultra-serious, conveying authority through his stolid demeanor.

When the ship’s computerized positioning system fails during an intense storm while Chris and Dave are engaged in saturation diving hundreds of feet below the water’s surface, the former becomes untethered and drifts away with only ten minutes of oxygen left in his suit.

The bulk of the film’s brief running time depicts the efforts of the ship to find and rescue the now unconscious Chris via an underwater mechanical retriever (akin to plucking a toy out of one of those claw machine arcade games), while Dave and Duncan work desperately from the diving bell through which the two men had descended.

In case things weren’t tense enough, the film includes onscreen graphics informing us exactly how many minutes of oxygen Chris has left, and then, more disturbingly, his “Time Without Oxygen.” After a certain period of time has gone by, it becomes apparent that the efforts are now about making sure Chris’ body is retrieved. But even if you’re not already familiar with the events that transpired, it isn’t hard to guess that the ending will be a happier one.

Much like Apollo 13, which generated tremendous suspense even though everyone already knew the outcome, Last Breath proves a gripping, necessarily claustrophobic experience that will have you holding your breath. Director Parkinson has lived with this story for so long now that he knows exactly how to ratchet up the tension and manages to make the action visually compelling even though much of it takes place in dark and murky underwater conditions.

The screenplay doesn’t waste time with much banter, and you could play an excellent drinking game revolving around the use of the phrase “copy that.” But the filmmakers get the job done, depicting the hair-raising events with impressive authenticity — some of the filming took place on the actual ship involved in the incident.

The movie benefits from highly effective performances, not only by the three leads but also Cliff Curtis as the ship’s captain forced to make touch choices and Mark Bonner as the dive supervisor anxious to get his men back safely. And whenever the tension threatens to lag, the swelling musical score by Paul Leonard-Morgan steps in to ensure that it doesn’t.