Oxygen

Waking up entombed and alone, a woman is forced to build back her memories in order to save her life….

Every breath she takes: Mélanie Laurent

Oxygen is a mystery. And considering its modest setting, it is a remarkably far-reaching one. A woman wakes up in a cocoon, hermetically sealed in a honeycombed straightjacket, wired up to a life-support system. She is in some kind of state-of-the-art coffin, a pod of sorts. But she cannot remember how she got there. She cannot even remember who she is. But she does know that she’s very frightened, very alone and only has enough oxygen to live for another 43 minutes…

Few films can boast such an arresting opening. And because we know as little as our protagonist – played by the French actress Mélanie Laurent – we immediately share her predicament; we are in her skin. Comparisons have been made to Rodrigo Cortés' Buried (2010), in which Ryan Reynolds wakes up in a coffin, but that is already giving too much away. Yet both films deal with claustrophobia and a battle of wits. Oxygen, though, covers more metaphysical ground, luring the viewer into a labyrinthine tale of loneliness, memory, identity, intelligence and even life itself.

It is not long before we learn that Laurent – or the bio-form labelled ‘Omicron 267’ – is trapped in a cryogenic pod. But why is she there? Who put her there? And who is she? We do know that she’s highly intelligent and resourceful and is soon locked in a game of chess with the AI controlling her fate. She just has to ask the right questions. Her disembodied companion (voiced by Mathieu Amalric) is programmed to assist her, if only she knows what to ask him. First off, he requests her password, which she obviously doesn’t know. So her fight for survival turns into a game of twenty questions: a cerebral battle of man versus machine. Can she outwit her gaoler using all the wiles of her human intellect?

Those who suffer from claustrophobia should give the film a wide berth. But those who relish a metaphysical workout should find much to enjoy. The director Alexandre Aja is a past master at cinematic unease, cementing his reputation with such high-calibre thrill-rides as Switchblade Romance (aka Haute Tension), Piranha 3D and Crawl. Here, he fleshes out Christie LeBlanc’s ingenious screenplay with a strong visual aesthetic, making the most of his limited stage. Both a multi-layered thriller and a treatise on problem-solving, Oxygen is a gripping, sweaty and even profound slice of sci-fi horror.

Original title: Oxygène.

JAMES CAMERON-WILSON

Cast: Mélanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi.

Dir Alexandre Aja, Pro Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur, Vincent Maraval, Brahim Chioua and Noëmie Devide, Ex Pro Noomi Rapace, Screenplay Christie LeBlanc, Ph Maxime Alexandre, Pro Des Jean Rabasse, Ed Stéphane Roche, Music Robin Coudert aka ‘Rob’, Costumes Agnes Beziers.

Gateway Films/Wild Bunch/Echo Lake Entertainment-Netflix.
101 mins. France/USA. 2021. Rel: 12 May 2021. Cert. 15.