With a title like "Last Breath," you know thereβs going to be trouble.
The young pipeline worker says goodbye to his fiancΓ©e. The grizzled veteran preps for his last rotation. The shipβs staff seem blasΓ© about everything.
From left, Finn Cole, Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu play repair workers in "Last Breath."
And then, three repair workers go down to the bottom of the North Sea and, sure enough, βLast Breathβ lives up to its harrowing title.
For Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu, veterans of the mission, the work doesnβt seem as daunting as it does for Finn Cole. He plays the youngest member of the team and, seemingly, the one with the most to lose.
When he and Liu go down to start the mission, director Alex Parkinson plants enough doubt to make this seem dicey β even for ones who have been at it for years. As expected, something happens and the film β based in truth β becomes a struggle to get the men to safety and the mission back on track.
Actor Simu Liu and crew members on the set of "Last Breath."Β
While the film is hyper-focused on the three, there are those in the ship who have to worry about a storm and getting the equipment aligned for recovery. To track the urgency, Parkinson uses a countdown clock that shows how much air is available and, ultimately, how much time is left for a rescue.
Itβs a nail-biting experience, even if you know the outcome and may have seen the documentary that preceded this fictionalized version. While the predecessor had to rely on audio and some footage to tell the story, Parkinson can go to the heart of the situation and detail every pulse-pounding minute.
Itβs to the actorsβ credit that they donβt pour on the drama. Like astronauts, itβs very much about the business at hand.
Cole, though, is the real gut check. He wins our affection immediately, then reels us in as the story unfolds. Every tear we shed on his behalf is well-earned.
Woody Harrelson leads a rescue mission in "Last Breath."
Although βLast Breathβ doesnβt tell a story we havenβt heard, it does show us where harrowing moments exist. Subtly, it says something about pipelines, too, and lets Harrelson make claims about the negatives of retirement.
When βLast Breathβ gets to those inevitable scenes from real life, theyβre even more emotional than we thought.
The film makes us appreciate jobs we didnβt know existed and the people who dare to do them. Harrelson and Liu are fine but Cole is the deserving scene stealer. He earns every tear he gets.
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