Last Breath (2025)
Champion swimmer and actress Esther Williams once said, “I don’t think you know the meaning of claustrophobia until you are out of air and you don’t see any way out of the place.”
She was referring to a mishap she had while filming the dream scene in the 1951 film, Texas Carnival, but that quote easily applies to the meticulously accurate new film, Last Breath. Based on a 2019 documentary of the same name, it’s a gripping watch that left me almost feeling guilty to be sitting in a nice, dry theater.
The film follows a crew of saturation divers on what seems to be a completely routine repair job on an undersea gas line, but there’s an undercurrent of finality. Old hat Duncan is being put out to pasture by the diving company, which he’s not too pleased about. However, he seems set up for a good last run with strong and seemingly inscrutable Dave and sorta green but eager Chris, the latter of whom he mentored while they investigated shipwrecks.
Dave seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder at first, but he’s a dedicated saturation diver, and he, Duncan, and Chris seem to get along all right in their pressurized environment. They’ve settled in pretty nicely, with a tea cozy for the teapot and chopsticks at dinner. Duncan has even brought his own pillow.
The amiable atmosphere is a good thing, because as soon as they get to the jobsite, things go wrong. A lot of things. There’s a storm. The computer system goes offline. The ship drifts and they can’t drop anchor for fear of hitting a gas main. Worse, Chris’s umbilical cord catches on a rivet of the manifold and snaps, so he’s stuck with his bailout oxygen, which will only last ten minutes.
Faster than anyone can say, “Houston, we have a problem,” the job becomes a rescue mission, and whether or not Chris will live is up in the air.
Last Breath is nicely effective with an impressive soundscape, and while there’s not a lot of exposition it’s always clear what’s going on. It’s not so much showing rather than telling, but in some cases hearing what’s going on rather than showing, since the scenes are often dark and cold, with conventional dialogue not always possible. When Dave jumps off the diving bell to the ocean floor, the score strikes a deep chord. When Chris’s line breaks, the sound suddenly goes muffled. Each time it feels like a gut punch.
And boy, are the underwater scenes dark. Over and over I was amazed at how these guys could find their way at all. It’s such a simple way to up the stakes without saying a word, and we get stake after stake after stake. Even something as inevitable as Chris’s flares going out while he waits to be rescued feels like doom.
The cast play everything to the hilt, and while everyone is on the money, Woody Harrelson is a particular delight despite his character being pretty isolated throughout the ordeal. While Dave and Chris are going through their troubles, Dean is in in the diving bell advising and monitoring with a mixture of urgency and calm direction, and his frustration at not being on the ocean floor himself is palpable. If he had room to pace around the diving bell, he would probably do that. He’s also a great one for getting everyone to lighten up in a cool uncle kind of way.
It’s often said that Last Breath doesn’t take any particular chances as far as artistry and technique are concerned, but given its story, it doesn’t really have to. It keeps the viewer engaged and its running time passes in a flash. The audience I saw the film with held their breath in sympathy the entire time, and when it was all said and done we walked out feeling satisfied and relieved.
Last Breath is currently in theaters. Rated PG-13.
My grade: A
Principal Cast: Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, Cliff Curtis, Mark Bonnar, MyAnna Buring, Josef Altin, Bobby Rainsbury, Connor Reed, Nick Biadon, Riz Khan, Aldo Silvio, Kevin Naudi, Claudiu Baciu, Brett Murray, Muhammed Arnini Bin Arrifin, Yaroslav Musii, Ramon Camilleri
Directed by Alex Parkinson.
Written by Mitchell LaFortune, Alex Parkinson and David Brooks.
Good review Rebecca! Totally agree that it's straightforward, old-fashioned approach is one of the reasons it works so well. And Woody gets to do a lot more than just play Woody.