Last Breath (1997) (aka: Lifebreath) Luke Perry, Francie Swift, Gia Carides, Gary Basaraba Movie Review

Last Breath (1997)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Luke Perry in Last Breath (1997) (aka: Lifebreath)

In Need of Improved Parts

Chrystie Devoe (Francie Swift) not only has cystic fibrosis but she also happens to have a rare blood type, a combination that means that having been told her lungs might last another 18 months finds herself already at month 12 with one false alarm when it comes to a possible match for a lung transplant. It isn't only Chrystie who is struggling with the passing time as her husband Martin (Luke Perry) is becoming frustrated especially when he runs the numbers with a friend and there is less than a 1% chance of a match showing up. Prepared to do what ever it takes to find a donor Martin comes up with a plan, but he isn't sure that Chrystie would approve especially as when he becomes secretive over what he is doing she thinks he is having an affair.

"Last Breath", or "Lifebreath" as it is also known, does come up with an interesting idea of how far will you go to save the one you love. And credit where it is due, the storyline which sees Martin volunteering at a medical facility so that he can obtain a list of women with the same blood group as his wife certainly has some dark potential. But I will tell you right now "Last Breath" just doesn't click with the movie becoming side tracked with some weak erotica as Martin seduces a woman who would be a perfect donor with things become complicated with Chrystie believing he is falling for this other woman.

In truth "Last Breath" is frustrating as it is full of some darkly entertaining ideas but it never succeeds in getting the right sort of atmosphere to be the thrilling movie it wants to be. In fact it really goes off the boil for a while and it isn't until it comes up with a sort of dark ending that it semi regains your attention. And sadly part of the trouble with the movie is the casting of Luke Perry as he is simply too much of a nice guy to effectively pull off the darker elements of the story and character.

What this all boils down to is that "Last Breath" is one of those movies which could have been good but ends up struggling to deliver the right atmosphere and darkness to make the story really get you gripped. In fact I will say this is one movie which is crying out to be remade by a director who can really bring out the darkness in the story.


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