This survival thriller is directed by Alex Parkinson and written by Parkinson, Mitchell LaFortune, and David Brooks. It is a feature film remake of the 2019 documentary of the same name that Parkinson co-directed with Richard da Costa. Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), Duncan Allcock (Woody Harrelson) and David Yuasa (Simu Liu) are members of a team of saturation divers who work to maintain undersea gas lines in the North Sea. When Chris has his umbilical cable severed and becomes trapped around 100 metres under the sea without heat or light, and with only the small amount of breathing gas in his backup tank, his teammates race to rescue him.
If this was not a true story, it would be pretty unbelievable. From the trope of this being veteran Duncan’s last dive to the logic, and science, defying conclusion, it is a remarkable tale. I have not seen the documentary so I found it pretty nerve wracking at times, and, it was solidly told. The underwater filming was very impressive, capturing the pure horror of being alone so far below sea level.
Harrelson basically plays Harrelson but he is always a pleasing screen presence and there are decent performances all round in this well cast film. As well as the three leads, the on ship crew co-ordinating the rescue includes Mark Bonnar, Cliff Curtis and MyAnna Buring.
Rating: 7 out of 10