Featured Image Credit: Focus Features
Topics: Film and TV, Entertainment, Reviews
Poppy Bilderbeck
Last Breath is a stomach-churningly amazing, eye-opening survival thriller with deeply affecting performances from Finn Cole, Simu Liu and Woody Harrelson.
Based on the true story of three deep-sea saturation divers Duncan Allcock, David Yuasa and Chris Lemons, Last Breath - written by Mitchell LaFortune, Alex Parkinson and David Brooks and directed by Parkinson - centers around a mission gone terrifyingly wrong.
A feature film remake of the 2019 documentary of the same name, viewers are plunged underwater into the North Sea in a mesmerisingly transportive, heart-wrenching fight for survival - my pulse was racing throughout.
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From the opening swelling sound of water, the film enthrals. The use of sound is perfectly paced and builds tension from the get-go, stressing the high-pressure nature of the job - 'one of the most dangerous on Earth'.
And the shots only further emphasize the pressures of the saturation chambers the divers spend time acclimatizing in for when they eventually go to depths of up to '1,000 feet'. Combined, they create the perfect goose-pimpling sense of foreboding and dread - my gripped hand regularly flying to my wincing face.
The cinematography exposes a terrifyingly beautiful and eye-opening look into the dangerous role of saturation divers - the job compared to 'going into space but underwater'.
Last Breath holds a heroic and quest-like purpose with pulse-racing stakes to match - is one young diver's life worth risking multiple others and an environmental disaster?
The divers heading into their compression chambers ended up striking a nostalgic chord within me of the isolation and pressure many of us felt amid the coronavirus pandemic, stirring an even greater empathy within me - it feels like this it the perfect time for Allcok, Yuasa and Lemons' stories to be told.
And well, Harrelson, Cole and Liu are the perfect actors to do it.
Cole takes center stage as rookie Lemons, Harrelson the father-like, instructor figure of Allcock and Liu the aloof Yuasa.
With much of the film taking place underwater - shocker - this placed even more emphasis on the use of sound, facial expressions and overall physicality.
A far cry from the Peaky Blinders role which first thrust him into the spotlight, Cole's portrayal of Lemons is captivating - it was difficult to take your eyes off him (no offence to Harrelson and Liu, of course).
Cole's use of breath and the heavy emotion he holds deep in his gaze is hair-raisingly powerful, each flutter of the eyelids or furrow of the brow pricking my eyes with tears - certain mirrored and cyclical shots adding an even greater poignancy.
The script has been finessed with a heart-wrenching simplicity, giving space for the actors and shots to - ironically - breathe, emphasizing the humanity even further in what's such an extreme and alien situation.
Harrelson, well, it's Woody Harrelson isn't it? A master of his craft, Harrelson isn't on screen as much as fans would probably hope, but he holds such strength in the glimmers we do see - it's not a surprise the movie's landed him with one of his best Rotten Tomatoes scores in years.
Liu channels Yuasa with a buzzing and intriguing intensity, warming viewers hearts in how he carries us along his character's emotional journey.
And once again, it's the power of the script and shots being left to breathe which aids the talented trio's harnessing of such raw and stirring moments, chiming together in perfect harmony to portray the unsung heroes who are Allcock, Lemons and Yuasa.
Alongside a pang striking within me as I was reminded of isolation during the pandemic, Last Breath presents a touching image of men's mental health with a beautifully affecting vulnerability.
It provokes viewers to confront their own mortality and left me wanting to hug my loved ones even closer.
The film's slogan is 'Make every breath count' and Last Breath certainly made every second of count.
I spent the entire 93 minutes watching with baited breath and as I stepped outside the cinema resolved: "Films like this are why I love my job."
Last Breath is the best survival thriller I’ve seen in years - my teeth were gritted throughout the whole film, it was nothing short of epic.
★★★★★ (Five stars)
Last Breath is scheduled to be released in the US on February 28, 2025 and will be released in UK cinemas by Entertainment Film Distributors on March 14, 2025.