đ Full Plot Summary: A Deep-sea Supernatural Thriller Of True Events
Embodying one of the most remarkable rescues in contemporary underwater rescue history, ‘Last Breath (2025)’ aims to be an emotionally gripping deep-sea survival thriller. Directed by Alex Parkison, the film is a dramatic retelling of the deep-sea diving accident which happened in the North Sea in 2012, and was previously discussed in a critically acclaimed documentary released in 2019.
The narrative focuses on Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), a young saturation diver who works together with two seasoned divers: David Yuasa (Simu Liu) and Duncan Allcock (Woody Harrelson). The crew is performing subsea pipeline routine diving servicing. While carrying out these tasks, there is an unexpected malfunction.
While carrying out a routine dive, there is a catastrophic failure of a shipâs dynamic positioning system. Because of âdynamic positioning system equipment failureâ, the ship pulls the diving bell away from the job site. During the helish scene, Chris’s umbilical tetherâhis critical means of oxygen, heating, and communicationâis cut off. This imprisonment places him at an astonishing depth of nearly 300 feet beneath the surface of the ocean.
Chris plunges into complete silence and darkness below the crushing depths of the ocean, his emergency tank containing only a few minutes of oxygen. Duncan and David, on the other hand, scramble against impossible odds including extreme pressure, heavy machinery, and a strict timeline in a bid to launch a desperate recovery effort.
While striving to survive in an environment designed to kill, a manâs sheer willpower is unparalleled. Simultaneously, the film encapsulates the technical and emotional turbulence the crew faces with his fate hanging by a thread as each second ticks by. Furthermore, depicting the environment Chris is surrounded in, and mirrors the sheer tenacity Chris needs to endure.
Main Cast:
Woody Harrelson as Duncan Allcock, the veteran diver supervising the operation and leading the rescue.
Simu Liu as David Yuasa, a competent and quiet diver whose composure under pressure makes him invaluable.
Finn Cole as Chris Lemons, the stranded diver whose ordeal tests the limits of human endurance.
Cliff Curtis as Captain Andre Jenson, managing ship operations from the surface.
Mark Bonnar as Craig, the dive supervisor coordinating the rescue.
MyAnna Buring as Hanna, the shipâs first officer.
Bobby Rainsbury as Morag, Chris’s fiancĂ©e who anchors the emotional core of the film.
Josef Altin as Mike, a fellow diver and moral support in the chaos.
đŹ Production Information:
Executive Producer: Alex Parkinson
Screenplay: Alex Parkinson, Mitchell LaFortune, David Brooks
Director of Photography: Nick Remy Matthews and Ian Seabrook (underwater photography)
Post Production: Editing: Tania Goding
Music composed specifically for the film: Paul Leonard-Morgan
Length of Film: 93 minutes
Spoken Language: English
Total Budget: 23.8 million USD
Total Box Office Revenue: 23.2 million USD (during the opening weekend)
The production team along with the marine engineers and divers developed the real world saturation diving scenarios, filming most underwater scenes in Malta with the use of deep tank underwater filming stage simulators.
đ Release Schedule:
Theatrical Release Date: February 28, 2025
Digital Release Date: March 18, 2025
DVD and Blu-ray Release Date: April 29, 2025
đ§ Themes & Symbolism:
Survival in Synergy with Nature: The human struggle against the relentless deep sea is the core narrative of Last Breath.
Brotherly Love and Faith: Life depends on the unique trust once saturation divers share among each other.
The Delicateness of Existence: Chris’s pale glow of life sustaining oxygen channels the remains of time, destiny and the boundaries within existence.
The Boldness of Science: Showcased the underappreciated profession of deepsea diving with all its engineering risks and resilient threats which is often encountered in the field.
đ§ Critical Reception:
âLast Breathâ received a favorable reception from both the audience and critics alike. The viewers appreciated the realistic portrayal of underwater visuals, the rawness of emotion in the performance, and the suspenseful ticking-clock pacing.
Last Breath was coined as âemotionally charged and tightly constructed,â showcasing Finn Coleâs breakout performance as one of the most appreciated parts of the film. Woody Harrelson’s and Simu Liuâs contradicting roles add depth to the film; with Harrelson portraying his usual character and Liu shedding his usual flair for a more serious role.
According to audience scores collected through surveys done post-screening, viewers who had little prior knowledge about saturation divingâdescribing it as âa space movie underwaterââreported overwhelming emotional responses alongside many other high-adrenaline expectations.
â Why You Should Watch It:
Fans of true survival stories, ocean thrillers, or any movies depicting deep-sea ventures such as The Perfect Storm, Everest, The Deep, or Gravity will be captivated by Last Breath from start to finish. Unlike other films, Last Breath finds its tension in genuine peril, human fragility, and remarkable acts of courage put on the spotlight instead of special effects or mythical creatures.