If confined spaces make you nervous, get ready for a panic attack during 鈥淟ast Breath.鈥
Based on a true story, the harrowing drama follows three pipeline workers as they head to the bottom of the North Sea for routine maintenance.
From left, Finn Cole, Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu play repair workers in "Last Breath."
One is a newly engaged rookie, another鈥檚 a grizzled veteran, the third is a level-headed pro, able to size things up within minutes.
All seems fine and then the three encounter a problem and 鈥淟ast Breath鈥 lives up to its harrowing title.
For Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu, veterans of the mission, the work doesn鈥檛 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.
Woody Harrelson leads a rescue mission in "Last Breath."
When he and Liu go down to start the mission, director Alex Parkinson plants enough doubt to make this seem dicey聽鈥 even for ones who have been at it for years. As expected, the story hinges on getting the men to safety and the mission back on track.
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While the film is hyper-focused on the three, there are those in the ship who must worry about a storm and getting 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.
It鈥檚 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.
It鈥檚 to the actors鈥 credit that they don鈥檛 pour on the drama. Like astronauts they鈥檙e very much about the business at hand.
Actor Simu Liu and crew members on the set of "Last Breath."聽
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.
Although 鈥淟ast Breath鈥 doesn鈥檛 tell a story we haven鈥檛 heard, it does show us where dangerous moments exist. Subtly, it says something about pipelines, too, and lets Harrelson make claims about the negatives of retirement.
When 鈥淟ast Breath鈥 gets to those inevitable scenes from real life, they鈥檙e even more emotional than we thought.
The film makes us appreciate jobs we didn鈥檛 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.
