Oxygène (2021)

Directed by Alexandre Aja. Starring Mélanie Laurent, (voices) Mathieu Amalric, Eric Herson-Macarel, Anie Balestra.

A mystery woman (Laurent) wakes up in an airtight cryogenic chamber, suffering from memory loss and unable to get out, assisted only by a dispassionate A.I. with the voice of Amalric; making matters worse, time is not an ally right now, since oxygen is running out fast. Anxious science fiction mystery-thriller might have worked better in a leaner format (an episode of television, part of an anthology, etc.), but is still engrossing in fits and starts. Laurent exerts a bravura endeavor, but she’s let down by the limitations of Christie LeBlanc’s screenplay—there’s no weight behind a thinly-defined character whose identity is stealthily withheld for so long. Director Aja, better known for external-threat and blood-and-guts horror, struggles to tighten suspense in this scenario; like previous films that employed a similar gimmick/premise (e.g., Buried), it becomes unsustainable at feature-length, but Aja’s efforts to open things up with memories, hallucinations, and the like to stave off tedium diminishes the claustrophobia and narrative focus. Music by ROB; capsule review by ME.

60/100