Finn Cole, Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu (L-R) star in “Last Breath” (Photo Credit: Mark Cassar/2024 Focus Features LLC).
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(“Last Breath” trailer courtesy of Focus Features)
What are the best ways to describe “Last Breath?”
Many adjectives come to mind.
Heart-pounding.
Inspirational.
Dramatic.
Miraculous.
In short, “Last Breath” shows the power of not giving up and how motivating it is when people do not give up on you as well.
Something is to be said about people who willingly put their lives in danger to provide a service for mankind.
First responders, like firefighters and police officers, often get love.
However, many of the most dangerous professions never get the headlines they deserve for their heroism.
A person must be special to jeopardize their life just to make everyday living better for their fellow man.
But what about saturated divers?
Do many people even know what a saturated diver is and why their job is so brutal?
Probably not.
Saturated divers plunge hundreds, if not thousands, of feet into the ocean to maintain underwater oil pipelines.
If saturated divers do not do their job, many people will freeze during harsh winters because they cannot receive the heat necessary to warm their homes.
The job of a saturated diver is dangerous for obvious reasons.
They have limited oxygen as they plunge to the ocean floor, meaning any mishap could cause them to lose oxygen to the brain, which would ultimately lead to death.
Furthermore, the freezing temperatures could cause those diverse to die from those extreme conditions.
Combine those harsh realities with Mother Nature.
Saturated divers must also deal with risky weather situations, which might make any potential rescue or recovery mission more difficult.
While other people might shy away from the dangers, saturated divers Duncan Allock (Woody Harrelson, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”), Dave Yuasa (Simu Liu, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”) and Chris Lemons (Finn Cole, “F9: The Fast Saga”) are born to do what they do.
In “Last Breath,” Duncan is the O.G. of the crew.
He is on his last dive as he prepares to enter retirement.
Despite the seriousness of the job, Duncan still finds time for some humor, which is needed while on a high-stress job.
Duncan even calls himself “Sat Daddy” because he is the “father” of the whole operation.
On the other hand, Dave takes his job super-seriously.
In “Last Breath,” Dave never smiles.
He does not have much time for chitchat.
And he has very little time for anything sentimental.
Therefore, when Chris hangs a picture of his fiancé in the bunk, Dave informs Chris that it might be easier to handle the realities of the job if he keeps his mind away from anything that could distract him from the harshness of their occupation.
However, that is easier said than done.
That might not even be the best advice because sometimes getting back to a person’s loved-ones is what could give them the extra motivation when adversity strikes.
Unfortunately, adversity does strike in “Last Breath” when a mishap in the ocean leaves Chris stranded with very little oxygen left.
When a life-and-death situation occurs, every little detail matters.
One mistake can be tragic.
And one second late could lead to a person becoming “the late,” as in deceased.
In “Last Breath,” everything that could go wrong goes wrong.
And when Chris loses oxygen and becomes unresponsive, Dave fears that the rescue mission has become a recovery mission.
Even before his mishap, Chris seems nervous about the mission to fix the gas pipeline in the seas near Scotland.
In “Last Breath,” Chris breathes so heavily that even with enough oxygen he might lose consciousness.
Thankfully, he has a team of “brothers” around him who care about his well-being, especially Duncan.
In “Last Breath,” Duncan is still haunted by an unsuccessful rescue mission from the past.
Instead of recovering a body to send to his colleague’s family, the crew could only send a shoe box full of his worthless trinkets.
Duncan is determined to not let that happen again.
Chris is like family to Duncan.
The elder statesman even jokes about having his own room at Chris and his fiancé’s home.
Chris jokingly tells Duncan that his bedroom will be painted pink, which Duncan says is not feminine despite what people think of the color.
That love is what keeps Chris alive and keeps his colleagues from giving up on him.
Finn’s performance as Chris is gripping and relatable.
Many people know young adults willing to do anything to provide a life for their young family or future family.
Unfortunately, those jobs sometimes put them in grave danger.
Even with the danger, knowing that they are doing it for the benefit of their family is enough to get them through adversity and dark times.
Rev. Ralph Douglas West of The Church Without Walls often tells his members who are going off to war, just make it back home.
The same can be said for those who perform dangerous jobs like saturated divers.
In “Last Breath,” which is based on a true story, Chris epitomizes the strength one can muster when they just simply want to make it back home to their family.
Harrelson brings the much-needed levity to such a serious situation.
And Liu shows how transformative trauma can be for others.
Watching someone experiencing a life-and-death situation will make anyone want to hug their loved ones tighter, even if they appear to have a rough exterior.
Unfortunately, true stories have predictable endings.
But filmmaker Alex Parkinson still makes “Last Breath” exciting, exhilarating and dramatic.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
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