Review: 'The Deepest Breath' Is a Masterclass in Tension
Netflix's freediving documentary achieves something rare—genuine suspense in a true story.
Director Laura McGann's The Deepest Breath shouldn't work. We know what happens. The ending isn't a surprise. And yet, watching champion freediver Alessia Zecchini descend into the blue, my heart raced as if the outcome were uncertain.
Technical Brilliance
The underwater cinematography is nothing short of extraordinary. McGann and her team capture the alien beauty of the deep with a clarity that makes you forget you're watching through a screen.
But technique alone doesn't create tension. It's the intimate portrait of Alessia and her diving partner Stephen Keenan that transforms this from a sports documentary into a meditation on love, risk, and the price of pursuing the impossible.