Submerged
Directed by Alex Parkinson
Starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Cole Finn
Released February 28th, 2025
Rated PG-13
Under the sea, there exist miles of gas lines, pipes that stretch across the black depths alongside unconcerned marine life. On occasion, these pipes need repair. This demands the need for one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Chris (Cole Finn) has such a job, and we follow him as he prepares for a deep-sea dive to do maintenance on pipes at the bottom of the North Sea. Chris is partnered with gruff veteran diver David (Simu Liu) and relaxed team leader Duncan (Woody Harrelson). Duncan’s superiors have encouraged him to retire after this mission, saying he’s aged out of the job. Duncan reluctantly agrees to step down. He’s conflicted about leaving this life behind, and he feels like he still has more to offer the company and the divers he supervises.
The crew of three are in a contraption called “the bell” when they are deposited in the North Sea by a large ship, captained by Andre Jensen (Cliff Curtis). Duncan stays behind inside the bell while Chris and David dive hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean to reach the pipes. The divers are in contact with Duncan via audio comms and video feeds, and Duncan is in constant contact with their mothership in this same fashion. Chris and David are connected to the bell via long cables that provide them with heat (necessary to combat the cold temperature of the depths) and oxygen.
While Chris and David are in the process of conducting repairs, the electrical system on Captain Jensen’s ship malfunctions, sending the vessel off course, and pulling Chris and David away from their position. David is able to get back to the bell safely, but the ship’s wild movements sever Chris’s umbilical cable, stranding him at the bottom of the sea without warmth or oxygen. A simple repair job becomes a rescue mission as Captain Jensen and his crew work to fix the ship’s electrical issues while Duncan and David attempt to locate and recover their stranded colleague as quickly as possible.
Based on an actual diving accident that happened in 2012, this story was originally chronicled in the 2018 documentary Last Breath directed by Alex Parkinson and Richard da Costa. Now Parkinson brings us a narrative version of that film, complete with the same title. Parkinson makes a good transition between documentary and narrative filmmaker, creating a tight ninety-minute film that educates the audience about the dangers of a job most of us know nothing about. It helps to have a cast as strong as this one, and Cole Finn, Simu Liu, Woody Harrelson, and Cliff Curtis all do fine work.
The screenplay, credited to Parkinson along with Mitchell LaFortune and David Brooks, fares better with suspense than it does dialogue. Early in the film when the boys in the bell are goofing off together, a lot of the chatter is downright cheesy. I understand that the filmmakers want to convey that these gentlemen have a good relationship with each other, but the humor falls flat. Thankfully, it is easy to overlook this since the rest of the film is so compelling.
Cinematographer Nick Remy Matthews, whose work on the film I.S.S. was remarkable, tops himself with underwater visions that are well-lit while conveying the claustrophobic deep blackness that defines the bottom of the ocean. Last Breath is absolutely a movie worth watching, though I advise you not to read anything about the actual events until after you see the film. The catastrophic technological failure that strands Chris leads to incredible tension surrounding his recovery, and a most surprising conclusion.