By John Corrado

Director Alex Parkinson dramatizes his own 2019 documentary of the same name in Last Breath, a decent survival thriller following a group of deep sea divers rescuing a trapped crew mate.

The first act is all about introducing the characters, a group of saturation divers repairing a stretch of pipeline deep below the North Sea. Chris Lemons (Finn Cole) is a rookie diver with his fiancée Morag (Bobby Rainsbury) back on shore, whom he leaves in the opening scene to go on this mission.

He’s packed into a cabin with veteran diver Duncan Allcock (Woody Harrelson), who is nearing retirement, and younger hot shot David Yuasa (Simu Liu), who has two daughters waiting for him at home.

Parkinson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mitchell LaFortune and David Brooks, sets up the working class dynamic early on, with the guys ribbing each other and talking about their lives. When things go wrong, and Chris is separated from the “umbilical chord” tethering him to the submarine, he is left stranded at the bottom of the ocean. This turns the routine maintenance trip into a harrowing rescue mission.

There is a ticking clock element to all of it, visualized by an onscreen countdown showing how much oxygen he has left. It’s a device that Last Breath utilizes effectively. Much of the action in Parkinson’s film is procedural; guys in control rooms figuring out solutions, and sorting through wires to reboot systems, as Captain Andre Jenson (Cliff Curtis) barks orders.

The storytelling and characterizations are pretty basic, and this economical approach keeps Last Breath feeling mostly conventional as it hits all the expected beats. But it also works reasonably well within the confines of the “based on a true story” survival thriller genre. The true story itself is pretty remarkable, and Parkinson’s dramatization offers enough moments that remind us why this made such a compelling documentary subject in his earlier telling to keep us engaged.

There’s a tautness to it, telling a suspenseful and emotionally satisfying true story in just over ninety minutes. It’s carried by a dependable cast, with the natural dynamic of Harrelson as the seasoned veteran and Cole as the sympathetic newbie.

Film Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)

Last Breath is now playing exclusively in theatres. It’s being distributed in Canada by Elevation Pictures.