The harrowing 2019 documentary “Last Breath” is now getting its fictionalized treatment, with filmmaker Alex Parkinson returning to helm the star-studded adaptation.
“Last Breath,” which is directed by Parkinson and co-written by Parkinson, David Brooks, and Mitchell LaFortune, stars Woody Harrelson as a deep-sea diver who is tasked with saving his crewmate (Simu Liu) after he becomes untethered with only five minutes of oxygen left.
Finn Cole and Cliff Curtis also star.
The official synopsis reads: “‘Last Breath’ is a heart-pounding film that follows seasoned deep-sea divers as they battle the raging elements to rescue their crewmate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface. Based on a true story, ‘Last Breath’ is an electrifying story about teamwork, resilience, and a race against time to do the impossible.”
Parkinson co-directed the original documentary with Richard da Costa. Parkinson told Deadline when the project was announced in 2022 that both films “touch on a lot of ideas; the strength of the human spirit, and the ability to hang on as well, this poor chap who is at the bottom of the sea bed, trying to cling on for as long as possible. It turns into this amazing race against time, which will play out in real time in the film. It’s still one of those things, where people don’t know how he survived.”
Parkinson continued, “He was conscious, with five minutes of oxygen, when that umbilical cord is severed. Suddenly he is in freezing water, and that’s the kind of thing you would feel immediately, and without electricity it is absolutely pitch black. It’s horrifying, but he managed to do everything right that he could to put himself in a position to be rescued. He’s 100 meters down, he’s got five minutes of gas; it’s all about the group of people he works with, coming together as a collective, overcoming insurmountable odds to complete an impossible rescue.”
“Last Breath” is produced by David Brooks, Paul Brooks, Hal Sadoff, Norman Golightly, Jeremy Plager, Stewart le Maréchal, Al Morrow, and Anna Mohr-Pietsch.
“Last Breath” premieres February 28 in theaters from Focus Features. Check out the trailer below.
