• Release year: 2025
• Director: Alex Parkinson.
• Producers: David Brooks, Paul Brooks, Norman Golightly, Stewart Le Maréchal, Anna Mohr-Pietsch, Al Morrow, Paul Parker, Jeremy Plager, and Hal Sadoff.
• Screenplay by: Mitchell LaFortune, Alex Parkinson, and David Brooks.
• Cinematography by: Nick Remy Matthews.
• Music by: Paul Leonard-Morgan.

Shotgun Commentary: breathtaking. Sure, it works as a pun, but also the film is literally gorgeous and stressful enough to keep you watching with bated breath.

Review

Last Breath is the type of film where you can see the disaster coming a mile ahead, yet it doesn’t make it any less stressful to witness. In case you didn’t know this is a true story, and I know what you might be thinking, “why didn’t you check if it ends well or not beforehand?”. Well, there are two answers for that.

First, even if a film is based on true events, you never really know if they will stick to reality when it comes to the ending, so it’s better to not have any expectations. And second, what is life without a little tension? Do you read the last page of a book before beginning the story?

The intro

The feature follows Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), a man who is about to get married and just bought a house in which, of course, he’s planning to do some renovations. If you’ve ever watched Hot Shots! (1991), yes, he is literally Deadmeat. After making sure you know exactly who it is that is going to get in trouble, you meet the rest of the crew: his two diving partners and their supervisor.

Of course, his partners are night and day, Duncan (Woody Harrelson) being the old man of the group, all sunshine and bad jokes, and Dave (Simu Liu) being the quiet, moody grump with a heart of gold. As for their supervisor/divers coordinator, he is a nice Scottish man with a favouritism so obvious it’s borderline comical.

Once you’ve met all the relevant players, you follow Chris into the depths of the North Sea, where he and Dave are doing some maintenance on a pipe system. Because of a huge storm, the boat loses its grip and begins to drift, causing Chris, Dave, and the whole diving apparatus (with Duncan inside) to get dragged along with it.

The problem? Christ gets stuck and can’t untie his chord. In the face of this imminent tragedy, nerves-of-steal Dave gives him basic instructions to survive after the cord snaps and promises to come back for him. After that, the real film begins, and we won’t spoil that in here.

The best bits

One of the best parts of the film is its sound design. Particularly, the lack of any sound in the depths of the ocean. The sensation of absolute nothingness, no light or sound, that envelops Chris is positively terrifying and strangely beautiful at the same time. It is his scenes alone underwater that really make the film worth watching at the cinema. A true marvel that really encourages you to embrace the silence and feel its emotional charge.

This state of nothingness would not be as impactful were it not for Cole’s performance. He presents Chris as a very likeable person, not really as dramatic as most disaster-movie protagonists, which is greatly appreciated. There is still the pointless girlfriend flashback to stall the narrative, but at least it is just the one, so it doesn’t really get as repetitive and tedious as many other features of the genre.

The proper crew

Still, a protagonist is nothing without a solid supporting cast. In this case, Cole is lucky to have Harrelson and Liu, who create the perfect character dynamics with their own portrayals of Duncan and Dave. Harrelson has the whole funny, quirky persona down, and it never fails to land.

As for Liu, it is more common to see him in funnier roles like Jackpot (2024), Barbie (2023), or Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), so this is a great change of pace. His character’s overall arch is nothing shocking, but Liu’s performance is really gorgeous, favouring the outlet of emotions through his eyes rather than falling into clichéd dramatic outbursts.

All in all, Last Breath leaves you breathless (pun very much intended). The cinematography is drop-dead gorgeous, the acting is unlike other tragedy films, and the pacing is flawless. As a spectator who doesn’t particularly enjoy narratives under the sea, this film is an absolute delight, you’ll be happy that you gave it a chance.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Don’t choose a risky job if you have a family or plans to make one.
• Never underestimate the quiet guy at work.
• When the story is good, there is no need for over-dramatising.

What’s your take? Have you watched Last Breath? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀