Direction: Alexander Aja
Country: France
Oxygen is by far the most interesting film of French helmer Alexander Aja (High Tension; Crawl), but it still struggles with a few aspects, especially in regard to the plot written by Christie LeBlanc. The film, technically inventive yet dramatically familiar, relies heavily on the performance of Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds; Beginners) as a locked up scientist who, without knowing her identity and experiencing both transient recollections from the past and psychotic episodes due to isolation, tries to survive inside a cryogenic chamber.
Assisted by a sophisticated computer interface called MILO (voice of Mathieu Amalric), the protagonist sets a series of attempts to contact the right people as the oxygen inside the cabin declines to dangerous levels. After figuring out what her name was, she comes to the conclusion she had a husband (Malik Zidi) and suspects someone has framed her.
Some convoluted uncovering and unlikely behavior - how can you put on airs when you’re running out of oxygen? - put me a bit off, but there was this mental labyrinth against the clock and a super claustrophobic environment making me relatively tuned. Both the scenarios and the special effects are accomplished in a modest sci-fi flick.
