Intense layers of deep-sea pressure and against-the-clock tension coat the walls of Alex Parkinson’s survival thriller “Last Breath” starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole and Cliff Curtis. 

The film is based on a 2019 documentary of the same name.

The film follows three saturation divers who work to maintain gas lines in the North Sea. During their heavily structured workday in the hostile environment, diver Chris Lemons (Cole) is stranded after a positioning system malfunctions.

The other two divers, Duncan Allcock (Harrelson) and David Yuasa (Liu) are then forced to work against the oppressive sea and dwindling oxygen to rescue Lemons. 

Harrelson, unsurprisingly, shines in the leading role. Harrelson gives both the gruff professional and concerned friend in a high-pressure situation. 

Liu and Lemons also do well to compliment Harrelson’s performance. 

“Last Breath” follows the beats of a survival thriller, though certainly in a more thoughtful manner. This is no Roland Emrick film. 

The characters are intelligent and work to make the right decisions not based on intuition or dumb luck, but on their own professional diving experience. 

The themes of claustrophobia and hostility are built up before the incident in a way that makes the film’s more exciting sequences feel earned. 

The on-screen picture is dark, with hues of blue and black contrasting sharply with the bright white lights of the diving bell. 

Thus, creating a dichotomy of two different worlds. The world humans have created to survive in and the world where humans are unable to survive. 

The film also has something of a science fiction vibe with its dark atmosphere and large machinery. 

In many ways, it transports its audience into an unfamiliar and alien world, despite it taking place on earth. 

The complicated buttons and panels of the diving bell and ship seem almost like that of UFOs to the average viewer – somehow making the atmosphere more hostile. 

There are also themes of masculinity and fraternity in the film. 

Commercial diving is a male-dominated field and the typical macho themes of toughness and bravery remain prevalent in the film’s characters. 

However, these themes do not overrule the character’s friendship brought about by their physical closeness and shared professional experience. 

This fraternal theme becomes more evident as the film’s tension arises, making it clear the divers exist beyond cardboard cutouts. 

They are real people whose professional life put them in high-danger situations where bonds are formed and lives are lost. 

The ocean itself is a character in the film. It is foreboding and almost omnipotent. 

The characters are ripped from the relative control of land to the godlike influence of the ocean.

And like that of the gnostic tradition, the ocean exists only to harm the characters and put them on the edge of survival. 

‘Last Breath’ will not do anything to relieve a viewer’s fear of the ocean — instead likely supplementing it. 

But what the film does do is create an atmosphere of tension that stays engaging even throughout the slower scenes. 

The perils of commercial diving and the nerves it takes are revealed throughout the film, creating an almost uplifting story in parts. 

‘Last Breath’ is well-crafted in its thrilling elements, putting as many chills on a viewer’s skin as any nautical horror film — boosting the idea that reality is often more harrowing than fiction.