Last Breath

Let me be frank, the only thing that could improve this already dense, well-made film is if the whole thing ended with Creed singer Scott Stapp standing on the bow of the ship, sending off the deep-sea divers into the North Sea while performing the American post-grunge band's incredible 90s hits. Otherwise, I have virtually nothing to complain about here. Last Breath is fantastic.

Last Breath is based on the true story of diver Chris Lemons who, during a deep-sea repair job in the North Sea, came within a micromillimetre of dying. The boat anchoring the diving bell he and colleague David Yuasa stepped out of to reach the bottom and repair a part of an oil pump was swept away during a storm, causing Chris' umbilical (diving term for a combined safety line/oxygen supply) to snap, leaving him to drift onto the pitch-black seabed with no means of communication, working compass, or lights. In 99 cases out of 100, that diver would have died down there on the ocean floor because the boat on the surface could not drop anchor either as they risked puncturing the oil pipelines at the bottom of the sea and thus causing a massive natural disaster. However, Lemons' closest colleagues Dave Yuasa and Duncan Allcock launched a rescue operation and the rest, as they say, is history. This happened in 2012 and this film benefits from the director's own documentary film of the same name, released six years ago.

Last Breath is one of the few Hollywood-produced thrillers based on real events where there was no need to spice things up, rearranging incidents and timelines to create excessive drama. Instead, director Alex Parkinson has listened to the divers' own testimonies, done lots of research, and told a story that, according to Lemons, Yuasa, and Allock, is very close to what actually happened. This is, of course, very good. And if anything it's noticeable that the film has been toned down in terms of thrilling dramatic music and cheesy one-liners. This is a classic story of human survival in its purest form and it never needed to be spiced up, not even with a tiny milligram of table salt.

Lemons survived 97 metres below sea level for 29 minutes of surface oxygen. No one knows today how it happened. No doctor or scientist can explain how it is even possible, which makes this story even more fascinating. There are theories that a unique combination of pressure/depth and temperature saved Lemons' life, but no one knows for sure.

Last Breath, despite missing the Creed touch, is really good. Woody Harrelson is spot on as the grizzled, humane, caring veteran, and Simu Liu is fine as the icy, analytical rule-breaker, while Finn Cole does a strong job as the newcomer Lemons. Seriously, watch this.