By – Gareth Jones

For fans of tense dramas based on real life, The Abyss, Woody Harrelson

March remains an odd time of year for movies.  In the “ancient” past, there used to be a time when studios would dump films that they were not happy with and wanted to just get shown so that they could be released on home media.  Now, it seems like the studios are still dumping films (such as the new live action Snow White), but now with an eye on the streaming market.  However, during both times, there were still films that were released that had value and were intriguing.  Last Breath falls into this category.  It is a tight, tense, experience that entertains through crisp filmmaking and excellent acting.

It is based on the true life story of a deep sea diver who was stuck at the bottom of the North Sea with little oxygen and a fierce storm making a rescue very difficult and risky.  In 2019, Richard Da Costa and Alex Parkinson directed a documentary about the incredible story.  Parkinson returns to direct the dramatized version of the story. He has only one other directing credit to his name, Lucy the Human Chimp, an equally emotional film based on a true story. Here, he does a good job of balancing the emotion of the story with the unbelievable drama.  He does this by framing the film around the relationship of the diver, Chris Lemons (effectively played by Finn Cole, well known to me for his performance in Peaky Blinders) and his fiance Morag, a great Scottish name and performed by Bobby Rainsbury.  This could have been played in a saccharine fashion, but Parkinson does a good job of utilizing the trope of the loved ones left behind and worrying. He also uses a great non-linear approach with the beginning of the film showing the diver reaching out to the camera in a truly haunting way.  We return to this image later in the film to great effect.

Chris is one of three divers that go down on that fateful day to fix a gas line. Along with him are David Yuasa (subtly played by Simu Liu) and the veteran of the trio Duncan Allcock who is on his last dive.  He is played by the always charming Woody Harrelson.  It is amazing to think of the variety of characters that Woody has played over the years whilst still being Woody.  Whether it is a dim-witted bowler or the two-timing detective, Harrelson is, for me, one of the most underrated actors working today.  His ability to connect with audiences with any character is often overshadowed by his off screen mythos, but here he brings a believability to the performance of a man who has committed his life to one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and is still addicted to the adrenaline.  As you may already suspect, something goes wrong with the dive and the majority of the film is a nail-biting and harrowing rescue mission.

Joining this great cast is also the brilliant Cliff Curtis, here with a nuanced performance as the captain of the boat that is tied to the divers and rescue.  It is always a good sign in a film when Cliff shows up. Another standout in a small role is MyAnna Buring as his second in command.  You might recognize her from one of the scariest films ever made, The Descent, but also from the equally disturbing Kill List. Here, she brings a level of reliability and support to the captain.  They make a great team.

The dramatic adaptation of a documentary film is not always successful.  Two versions that I can think of that do succeed like Last Breath are Grey Gardens and Rescue Dawn (where Werner Herzog adapted his own documentary as only Werner can.)  Here, Parkinson also finds additional elements to explore from his documentary in the narrative format.  It is worth seeing on the big screen as well.