Last Breath (Christian Movie Review)
Verdict: Last Breath is a life-affirming survival thriller that keeps the uplifting human elements at the center of its escalating, edge-of-your-seat tension.
About the Film
In an age of widespread cynicism and division, sometimes it’s helpful to remember the goodness and nobility of the human spirit. Last Breath tells the miraculous true story of a diver trapped at the bottom of the North Sea and his crew’s courageous efforts to rescue him. The tale was the subject of a critically acclaimed 2019 documentary by director Alex Parkinson. He stepped behind the camera once again to adapt the story into a cinematic Hollywood thriller and has delivered one of the most enjoyable films of the year so far. Last Breath is a life-affirming survival thriller that keeps the uplifting human elements at the center of its escalating, edge-of-your-seat tension.
Survival/disaster films have always been one of my personal favorite genres. They amplify humanity’s most noble qualities as ordinary people overcome extraordinary, life-or-death circumstances. At their best, such films possess two critical elements: (1) sympathetic characters and (2) tense situations. Last Breath excels on both accounts.
A survival movie is only as impactful as the humans at its center. From start to finish, Last Breath is a fundamentally human story. The entire cast is great, but the film is primarily carried by the capable trio of Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole. Each actor brings a sense of earnestness to his role. Admittedly, Woody Harrelson’s acting can be an “acquired taste.” While he is unsurprisingly responsible for much of the film’s levity, he also brings a great deal of heart to his role as the paternal, elder statesmen on the crew. The movie’s first act, which occurs prior to the crisis, is no less engaging than the thrills that follow.
When those thrilling events arrive, they are well executed. Last Breath is consistently exciting, but not in a high adrenaline, “action flick” sort of way. It uses the underwater atmosphere and the terrifying circumstances to instill dread into the viewer. The impressive underwater portions are executed with technical proficiency. The dark, cloudy water feels both overwhelmingly vast and suffocatingly claustrophobic. The closest comparison may be the excellent Ron Howard-directed film Thirteen Lives (2022). Last Breath doesn’t manufacture obstacles. Instead, the ticking clock of the lost diver’s remaining oxygen reserve—numbers that periodically appear on screen—is an ever-present, looming threat.
The film feels somewhat like a documentary (which is unsurprising, given that it was adapted from a documentary by the same director). By keeping the film grounded and realistic, it becomes even more powerful. It is a feel-good story about regular people rising to the occasion—at great personal risk—to save the life of one humble diver. Title cards at the conclusion of the film reveal that, while there are several possible scientific theories to explain what transpires at the end of the story, the evidence remains inconclusive and bewildering. In other words, Last Breath is a story about a miracle.
An intimate human drama not attached to a flashy franchise or IP likely won’t make a big ripple in the Hollywood movie season. But Last Breath‘s redemptive story will both entertain and inspire those who take the plunge and watch it.
For Consideration
On the Surface—(Profanity, Sexual content, violence, etc.).
Language: There is one F-bomb (spoken in real-life footage that plays during the final moments of the film), and 2-3 uses of “s—.”
Violence: Several waterlogged corpses are shown trapped underwater from a boating accident.
Sexuality: A man makes a possible crude innuendo about what the male crew on the ship can do with their hands. An engaged couple live together prior to marriage.
Engage The Film
The Innate Value of a Life
How much is one life worth? Last Breath answers emphatically that a single life is worth everything. In one sense, the movie echoes the teachings of Jesus about the shepherd that will leave behind 99 sheep to save one that is lost (Matthew 18:12). Chris Lemons—the diver lost at the bottom of the sea—is a humble, ordinary person. Yet his crew does everything in their power to save him. Even as the situation grows increasingly dire, they refuse to abandon hope. Against the backdrop of today’s polarization and dehumanization, Last Breath is a powerful reminder that all people are created in God’s image and have priceless value (Genesis 1:27).
