If you’re a fan of heart-thumping action thrillers, you may have already seen trailers for the latest blockbuster film Last Breath. The movie, which premieres in theaters on Mar. 14, details the shocking story of a gang of North Sea divers, who race against the clock to save one of their brothers in arms from a deadly underwater diving accident. Since some elements of the film appear to be larger than life, many have begun to wonder if the narrative of Last Breath is based on a true story. Though it may seem shocking, the movie is in fact a retelling of true events, as depicted in a 2019 documentary of the same name.
Since the film has already been getting rave reviews from critics, now seems like the perfect time to unpack the true background of Last Breath, and see what we can learn about the real life heroes behind the tale. Please be advised that there will be major spoilers for the brand new film ahead. Still, these details shouldn’t ruin your enjoyment of the gripping tale, since the movie is an adaptation of true events. Either way, let’s dive right in and see what we can bring to the surface.
What Happens in ‘Last Breath’?
Last Breath stars Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu and Finn Cole as professional divers who work within the treacherous North Sea, off the coast of Scotland. During a routine underwater repair in 2012, the gang depicted in the film are shocked to find their ship’s dynamic positioning system mysteriously fail during a storm. With nothing to hold their vessel in place along the choppy waves, the tether attaching diver Chris Lemons (Cole) to the ship snaps, leaving him stranded in the pitch-black depths with no heat, power, lights or comms. To make matters worse, Lemons’ suit is equipped with only five minutes of backup oxygen.
With the knowledge that it would take a minimum of 30-40 minutes just to locate their submerged diver, the rest of the gang suit up and prepare for a rescue mission – though most of them acknowledge that it will likely be a recovery mission to retrieve Lemons’ remains. As the plot of Last Breath plays out, the team fight against brutal weather conditions, dangerous tech malfunctions and their own uncertainties, before miraculously pulling Lemons to the surface alive and well. The whole thing seems almost too farfetched to be true, though all of the original divers are alive to tell the tale today. Though the film obviously takes a few creative liberties in the name of concise storytelling, Last Breath actually does portray an accurate representation of what the crew experienced over 13 years ago.
Unpacking the 2019 Documentary About Chris Lemons’ Story
If you’re a fan of documentary films, you may already know that Last Breath‘s narrative was the subject of an informative nonfiction movie back in 2019. The film, which also delivered dramatic reenactments for the screen, used real-life footage captured by body cams and other tech from Lemons’ ship, in order to give audiences a true and accurate viewing experience. It’s essentially impossible to explain how exactly the diver lived through the ordeal, considering his oxygen levels stretched nearly 10 times longer than they should have, and he was in freezing cold water while awaiting rescue. You might say that his survival was one of pure luck, an act of God or just a byproduct of Lemons’ extensive underwater training, and slow acclimation to frigid depths from his years inside pressurized diving vessels.
During an interview with Time, Last Breath director Alex Parkinson remarked, “You could say that Chris was the unluckiest person in the world for the accident to happen in the first place. But conversely to that, he was the luckiest person in the world that all the right people were in the right place to do the right thing at the right time in the exact right sequence to get him rescued and resuscitated. If any one of those things had been different, he would not have survived. That’s mind blowing.” Parkinson doesn’t have any professional diving experience himself, though he explained how he was drawn to Lemons’ tale after watching the documentary because of how gripping and universal the feeling of overwhelming claustrophobia was within the narrative. “I really love stories where the truth is stranger than fiction because it gives you amazing insight into the human psyche,” he stated in the above interview. “Chris should have died that night. But his story is a great example of how the human spirit can overcome anything.”
Where Are the ‘Last Breath’ Divers Today?
Though the 2012 incident which inspired Last Breath was traumatic for all parties, each of the key players involved in the thrilling movie continued diving long after the near-death experience took place. In fact, the real life Chris Lemons, David Yuasa and Duncan Allcock each met with their on-screen counterparts during the production of the movie, providing some personal insight into their unique experiences. The gang even reunited for the February premiere of Last Breath, where they were photographed arm-in-arm with the Hollywood stars. Apparently the divers have remained close friends since the incident, and have kept in contact both on and off the job site.
Allcock finally took his retirement from diving just last year, putting a cap on a long and storied life at sea. Lemons, by the same token, still works in the deep-sea recovery and repairs industry, albeit from a safer location outside of the water. Today, Lemons stays dry, though he continued to dive for over a decade following the terrifying events shown in Last Breath. Yuasa is the only remaining member of the crew who still routinely goes on underwater missions, now operating under a different company than the one depicted in the 2019 documentary. While it’s a miracle that these men lived to tell their tale, their plight makes for a truly stunning cinematic experience. Those interested in finding themselves breathless should be sure to catch Last Breath in theaters on Mar. 14.
