‘The Deepest Breath’ Review: A Perilous Drop Into the Ocean

While watching “The Deepest Breath,” a documentary that palpably conjures the thriller and menace of the deep sea, I discovered it tough not to consider the Titan submersible catastrophe final month. But this movie, on Netflix, invitations viewers to submerge alongside thrill-seekers unconfined by a vessel: Its topic is the acute sport of free diving, through which rivals plunge into the depths for minutes at a time with out scuba gear.

The story facilities on the Italian champion Alessia Zecchini and the Irish diver Stephen Keenan, who met at a 2017 competitors within the Bahamas, started coaching collectively and engaged in a quick romance. Using astonishing underwater footage and movies from their travels, the movie profiles the 2 adventurers earlier than a cataclysmic tragedy that rocked the free diving group.

As the movie’s director, Laura McGann, relays these tales, she intentionally withholds sure materials to maintain audiences in suspense about whether or not a dying occurred. Extreme dangers attend free diving; throughout their coaching, Zecchini and Keenan grew accustomed to experiencing blackouts. The movie opens with alarming footage of 1 such incident, utilizing the life-threatening situation for narrative stress.

This strategy might need handed muster had the movie matched its apprehensive temper with an equally compelling, clearer window into Zecchini and Keenan’s psychology. But regardless of listening to from their fathers and associates, we be taught treasured little concerning the private lives of those spectacular people. When it involves what drove them, how they related to others or how they handled hazard, “The Deepest Breath” presents solely surface-level observations.

The Deepest Breath
Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes. Watch on Netflix.