Taut Breath a testament to ingenuity and faith
There are a great many moving parts necessary to keep an undersea pipeline operational. A job many don’t think of is that of the saturation diver. When repairs are needed on the pipeline, it falls to them to fix it, sometimes requiring dives of up to 1,000 feet. Not only are they working in conditions where the pressure of the environment can kill you, the temperatures are frigid, while the darkness is oppressive.
Assigned to the support vessel Bibby Topaz, divers Chris Lemons, Duncan Allock and David Yuasa set out on a routine repair on a bitter spring day in 2012. Operating off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea, a storm was on the way, but nothing to be concerned about. However, unusually large swells caused the ship to drift while the diving bell (which is attached to the large vessel) containing the three men was submerged. Lemons and Yuasa were in the water when this occurred, unable to reach the bell as it was being drug away, the two ultimately separated during the chaos.
One part Apollo 13, one part Gravity, Alex Parkinson’s Last Breath recounts these events, a gripping and at times terrifying account that puts us in the shoes of the divers. Utilizing a documentary-like approach, the director captures the intimacy that existed between the men as well as the claustrophobic nature of their environment. As a result, Parkinson creates not only a white-knuckle thriller but also a fascinating examination of the divers’ world as well as those aboard the support vessel.
Allock (Woody Harrelson) is the veteran of the group, having seen many changes to the job over his lengthy tenure. This is to be is his last job, something he keeps from his colleagues until they’re submerged. Yuasa (Simu Lu) is all business and doesn’t suffer any fools. Deadly serious, he has his doubts about Lemons (Finn Cole), who only has a handful of dives under his belt. Allock’s assurances that he’s capable do little to assuage his concern. The three actors accord themselves nicely, each subtly allowing their characters’ stoic demeanor to slowly crumble as the situation becomes more dire.
What occurs aboard the Bibby Topaz is no less tense, as Captain Andre Jenson (Cliff Curtis) and his crew scramble to arrest the listing ship. Continuing to drift away from the drop site, dive supervisor Craig Wilkins (Mark Bonnar) and 1st Officer Hanna O’Connor (MyAnna Buring) are forced to abandon protocol and think outside the box in an effort to quickly solve the problem at hand. When Jenson decides to manually steer the ship, this introduces a new set of difficulties as the vessel is run by computers.
How this situation turns out is nothing short of miraculous. What Allock, Lemons, and Yuasa endure is beyond comprehension and as such, it speaks to the power of maintaining faith even when all seems lost. Breath certainly doesn’t suggest that divine intervention played a hand in what occurred, yet there’s no question something inexplicable was a play. It’s a mystery nearly as unfathomable as to why these men would do this job in the first place. In theaters.
Riff Raff’s veteran cast elevates comic crime caper
What with its cast of unsavory characters, dark sense of humor and self-conscious irony, Dito Montiel’s Riff Raff would have been brushed off as just another Tarantino knock off had it been released in the wake of Pulp Fiction. Thankfully, enough time has passed so this film won’t be brushed aside as a pale imitation to the crime classic, as it deserves to be seen without any unfair comparisons.
Despite appearances, this is a family drama, one in which dysfunction comes home to roost in two households. Nothing good comes from it as circumstances unknowingly push two former “business associates” on a collision course which will result in much bloodshed and an unexpected reckoning.
An actors’ showcase, John Pollono’s screenplay sports one well-written, unique character after another. Vincent (Ed Harris) has done his time as an independent contractor and found solace with his much-younger second wife Sandy (Gabrielle Union) and her son DJ (Miles J. Harvey). Living a quiet life, they’ve retreated to their home in the woods to celebrate the holidays. However, their respite is interrupted by a trio of unwanted visitors. Vincent’s son from his previous marriage, Rocco (Lewis Pullman), shows up with his very pregnant girlfriend, Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), in tow. Also, along for the ride is Vincent’s ex, Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge), a blowsy broad with little couth and no filter.
Meanwhile, hitmen Lefty and Lonnie (Bill Murray and Pete Davidson) are on the road, searching for Rocco. With only a scant clue of where he’s headed, the duo cut a haphazard, and at times, bloody trail through small New England towns. Just why they are on the hunt remains a mystery for nearly an hour, yet it never proves frustrating, thanks to Pollono’s sharply written, insightful script.
The tension generated by the unexpected visitors to Chez Vincent is a fruitful catalyst for meaningful conversations and shocking revelations. The dynamic between Vincent and Ruth is particularly interesting, things long left unsaid between them finally coming to the fore. Harris and Coolridge are in their element while sharing the screen, each providing a sense of nuance to roles that could have easily been overplayed.
Similar results are realized with the pairing of Rocco and DJ. While they both refer to Vincent as their father, their respective experiences with him couldn’t be more different. Resentment by the elder ultimately gives way to understanding a stronger bond develops between the two as a result. As for Lefty and Lonnie, they are on opposite ends of the timeline, the former ready to cash in his chips, the latter still having much to learn. Murray’s deadpan approach plays wonderfully off Davidson’s uncertainty, the humor they generate never forced. The duo is so good, the film would have benefited from a scene or two more focused on them.
Though Lefty and Lonnie’s journey is a long one, the film never lags, one familial revelation after another keeping us hooked. Once the inevitable meeting of the principals occurs, it doesn’t disappoint. Granted, Pollono’s plotting falters a bit at the end, but not enough to mar the fine work that’s preceded it. And while Riff Raff will never be considered a classic, it is an example of expert craftsmanship making what could have been a mediocre film an entertaining diversion. In theaters.
Bloody Monkey a dark tale of inescapable fate
During the 1950s, E.C. Comics (ironically, E.C. stood for “Educational Comics”) became notorious for their tales of bitter irony, in which morally questionable characters would get their comeuppance in a gruesome, horrific manner. Sporting titles like Tales from the Crypt, and The Vault of Horror, the authors and artists working on these books not only reveled in pushing the boundaries of good taste but also in delivering humor of the darkest variety. If the idea of a cheating baseball players’ head being used as the ball during a game strikes you as a gut-buster, these were the comics for you.
Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey would be a perfect fit for one of the E.C. comics, a tale with a sense of humor as dark as a coal mine at midnight. Adapted from a short story by Stephen King, whose cited the E.C. periodicals a s major influence on his work, the film wallows in its gallows humor, the director going out of his way to blindside the audience with one gruesome death after another. Much in the vein of the Final Destination movies, Monkey quickly establishes its premise, causing the viewer to move to the edge of their seat, either in dread or anticipation, of the next horrendous homicide. To say that Perkins continually increases the gore factor as the film progresses is an understatement.
Cut from the same cloth as Cain and Abel, twins Bill and Hal (Christian Convery) couldn’t be more different, the former an abusive bully, the latter a withdrawn victim. Rooting around in their absentee father’s things one day, they find a macabre toy, a wooden monkey that plays the drums when the key in its back is turned. As any curious boys might, they turn the key, ignorant to the fact that once the drumming stops, someone will die in an unlikely manner.
The first to go is their teenage babysitter who is decapitated at a Chinese restaurant. Her demise, at the hands of a flirtatious cook with a very sharp cleaver, is the most logical. Other victims are impaled, set on fire, trampled to death by horses, explode, are scalded, killed by a shotgun blast or have a tragic lawn mowing accident. My favorite involves a bowling ball cannon.
By now, you know whether this is your cup of tea of not. Twisted individuals will likely be laughing uproariously at the ever-escalating, cleverly rendered murders that take place. Others will be looking at their popcorn more than the movie screen. That I had tears in my eyes and, at times, had a hard time catching my breath, tells you what camp I fall in.
As to the reason why this is happening, well, there is no reason… which, is the point. Consoling her two sons, their mother Lois (Tatiana Maslany) tells her boys, “Everything is an accident, or nothing is an accident. We’ll all die. That’s the way it is.” Cynical, to be sure, but no less true. Still, that doesn’t prevent Hal (now Theo James) from trying to stop the curse, the Monkey being wielded by Bill (also James) for his own purposes.
An effort to make the cursed toy serve as a metaphor for the baggage parents inadvertently foists upon their children falls flat. Not that it’s a bad idea, it just isn’t developed enough to hold any water. Yet, when Perkins concentrates on reminding us of the inexplicable, and sometimes ironic, nature of death, The Monkey is firing on all pistons, delivering a convincing argument that it’s better to laugh in the face of fate, rather than plumb its mysteries. In theaters.
This article appears in The state of the state.
