Filmed during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, ‘Oxygen’ is director Alexandre Aja’s return to French-language films. His comeback is more dominant than before as he maintains tension throughout the film with just the right amount of horror glimpses and a few scares to attract the audience’s attention. Infatuated with one-location cinema, ‘Oxygen’ is his latest addition to the genre but the film is more a thriller than a horror.
It is about a woman Liz Hansen (Mélanie Laurent) who snaps wide awake from a deep slumber, not knowing who she is and how did she get there. Trapped in a chamber like space, she tries every possible way to escape and find her whereabouts. The entire film takes place within a cryogenic chamber slightly larger than a coffin. The whole setup is gripping, sending viewers a jolt of what might be coming next.
With the opening of the film, viewers are introduced to Liz Hansen aka Omicron 267 wrapped in a cocoon and with restraining straps across her chest. She wakes up in an air-sealed cryogenic hi-tech pod surrounded by screens and readouts and hooked up to various life-support wires with no memory of how she got there. Confused with the situation, she finds it hard to even remember her name or her professional background.
Soon she starts having flashbacks of being rushed to a hospital or was she rushing someone else to the hospital? She has glimpses of her husband, a conversation with the police, a sedative on an arm and a person in a wheelchair. She has no idea what’s going on. All she knows is that her oxygen levels will last around 90 minutes and she has to piece together her fragmented memories and reconstruct her opaque identity.
With dwindling oxygen levels, she communicates with the pod’s state-of-the-art A.I. named MILO (voiced by Mathieu Amalric) as she feels it might know more and could do more than it is letting on. The film is more of a mystery where Liz has to ask the right questions to figure out the truth of why she’s there and how she can save her life. She asks MILO to run her DNA test that proves to be a game-changer.
Being the film’s only real character, the film heavily depends on Laurent’s acting ability and she brilliantly depicts a range of emotions as new revelations come her way. Transitioning from fear and anger to grief and determination, she gives what will easily be one of the best performances of 2021.
The first shots of the film only show her face and she does so much with that. Her features, elongated by red lights, further add depth to her expressions reminding viewers of her incredible range. The film’s addled lead shines throughout, from start to finish. Had it not been for her acting, ‘Oxygen’ might lose its path. She is terrific in practically every frame.
As Milo’s voice, Mathieu Almaric matches the cool, detached energy of his surroundings, while simultaneously winning the trust of Laurent. Milo behaves as Siri, offering other interfaces for Laurent to navigate. The two even share a few wry exchanges.
With a simple yet twisted premise by Christie LeBlanc, ‘Oxygen’ intertwines both grief and optimism, which defines where the world is in 2021. It highlights isolation and loss while hoping for the future. The art and animation departments have expertly constructed a cryo-chamber that is both visually pleasing and creepy. The ethereal music also adds to the drama in ‘Oxygen’.
Th film is like a breath of fresh air for people looking for something to watch on Netflix. It will make you put your phone on the other side of the living room and leave you gasping for air. It might be good to re-watch the film after all the secrets are revealed because, in the first attempt, viewers know only as much as Liz knows. The film always keeps the viewer on their toes.
For better understanding, have a whole room to yourself to experience what Liz goes through.
Leave a Reply