162. Last Breath; movie review

LAST BREATH
Cert 12A
88 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate threat, infrequent strong language

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to be shown around a dry-docked submarine by one of her former crew.
Two things struck me. Firstly, the confined space in which people had to live and work for weeks on end. Secondly, the lump on my head from where I banged it into metal.
Being underwater is not for those who are clumsy or claustrophobic.
As those who give testament during Last Breath agree - only a particular type of person would take on being locked away for weeks in a cabin in the North Sea.
Theirs is a dramatic story with a bewilderingly unexpected finale.
Directors Richard da Costa and Alex Parkinson recreate the lead-up and the day that deep sea diver Chris Lemons was left stranded in the water with just five minutes of oxygen and no hope of rescue.
Last Breath is a salutary lesson of how far we have come to depend on computers.
Technology was meant to keep a lead vessel in place on the surface while hundreds of feet below, the divers worked on an oil installation.
Lemons was working with a co-diver and a bellman when the cables which provided him air and water became entangled.
At the same time, the main vessel's computers went offline and the ship began to drift away from the team on the sea bed.
Da Costa and Parkinson build up the tension through contributions from each of the crew who range from matter-of-fact to very emotional.
They cleverly recreate the scene with a combination of real footage and reconstruction.
It all adds up to Last Breath being an intense thriller even though it is a documentary. Both Mrs W and I recommend it heartily.

Reasons to watch: Riveting true story
Reasons to avoid: Induces a feeling of claustrophobia

Laughs: None
Jumps: One
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? An underwater welder life expectancy is between five and ten times lower than labourers working in construction or manufacturing.

The final word. Alex Parkinson: "You don’t need to be a diver or know much about diving at all to engage with the story and the utter horror of being trapped all alone on the seabed. So that was what drove us eventually to get it made into a feature film for a worldwide audience."

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