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Oxygen

A well-made sci fi with interesting stuff going on inside a small pod.

Oxygen

Merge Buried, Gravity, and 127 Hours with 2001 and you’ll catch the vibe of the Netflix single-location sci-fi, Oxygen. With only one main character, Liz (Melanie Laurent), director Alexandre Aja and writer Christie LeBlanc have crafted an intriguing space mystery about a scientist trapped in a cryogenic coffin with only 19 minutes of oxygen left.

Not only is it nail-biting to witness a smart lady contesting her death with a Hal-like computer, M.I.L.O (Matthew Aamalric), but it is also interesting to connect with our experience of claustrophobic COVID-19 and our wish to live. How filmmakers can make the experience epic while the stage is a small pod is the magic that draws me in and doesn’t let go.

Another suspenseful part of this thriller is the regular reminder of how much oxygen is left, or rather, how much time she has before death. Like a detective in a crime novel, Liz has to use all her resources (her mind) to find out how to stop the descent. Part of the tension is that the filmmakers allow her to cry at times when she should be conserving the air as we shout from our comfortable seats for her to stop.  This sexist trope is out of date.

The most human element besides the will to live is her drive to re-unite with her husband, Leo (Malik Zidi), who also is doing the cryogenic dance. Like a dream in which she is close to her goal but never reaching it, this segment is the most emotionally powerful.

Oxygen is a smart sci-fi with enough smart challenges to satisfy the most discerning cinephile—and the rest of us who just enjoy well-made films.

Oxygen

Director: Alexandre Aja (Piranha 3D)

Screenplay: Christie LeBlanc

Cast: Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds), Malik Zidi (Lines of Wellington)

Run Time: 1h 40m

Rating: TV-MA

John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JohnDeSando62@gmail.com

John DeSando holds a BA from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in English from The University of Arizona. He served several universities as a professor, dean, and academic vice president. He has been producing and broadcasting as a film critic on It’s Movie Time and Cinema Classics for more than two decades. DeSando received the Los Angeles Press Club's first-place honors for national entertainment journalism.