Released in 2021, ‘Oxygen’ is a French-language film which belongs to the genre of science fiction thriller. With the help of a brilliant actress in Mélanie Laurent, the film explores a deep and emotional character. This is a film has a sensitive, and intricate story. Even though it is a film that revolves around a single character trapped in a single location, it explores deep themes such as identity, hope, and human perseverance.
Her performance is not the only crucial aspect that the film offers. It is important to realize that the story is not only set in a particular location, it also takes place in the mind. The overwhelming amount of feelings and emotions that the film Oxygen evokes is captured through great visuals combined with amazing directing and acting. Oxygen is a film that possesses a story that is both very personal and very global in nature.
Plot Overview
There is silence and darkness. Out of the two, the two dominate the other. The silence is first to dominate, and a woman is seen waking up. She is situated in a medical cryogenic chamber, and it is closed. She is also disorientated, and is terrified in the sense that she does not know where she is, or the events that have brought her there. Surrounded around her are high-tech pods, and in there, is artificial intelligence M.I.L.O, capable of speaking, monitoring her vitals, and showing information through surrounding screens.
The woman quickly realizes her supply of oxygen is running short. Understanding her situation, surviving, and determining how to contact the outside world with oxygen is critical to her success. Everything is difficult because the woman has no memory, not even of her own name.
She has no name, no “social-cast”. With clarity of thought, and with full determination, she embarks on the arduous journey of solving mysteries surrounding her self, and her situation. In the process of navigating the cryo unit interface, and attempting to reach out of the available primitive communication arrays, flashes of memories, emotions, M.I.L.O. questions them, and memory strata retrieve the upper layers. She recalls HIM assisting her.
At last, after painstakingly boring days, she manages to understand she is a scientist, and her name is Elizabeth Hansen. But as expected, not everything is clear. With the integration of more and more “pieces”, the more Elizabeth understands her journey is not as mundane as neglecting an appointment—there is a more profound and intricate “calling”, the crux of which seems to lie in the onerous, daunting, “choices” she is about to face.
For her, it would not only be a life-saving effort but also an attempt to ascertain the reality of the circumstances surrounding her confinement in the pod, her life’s purpose, and the weight of her choices on others. With the passing second, the lowering levels of oxygen fuel her fears and exhaust her mental and physical faculties.
Main Characters
Elizabeth Hansen (Mélanie Laurent)
Elizabeth is the most important character of this film. She starts the story without memories and in a confused and mechanized world. During the course of the film, she displays great valor, mental acuity, and emotional fortitude. Unlike others, she does not only try to escape perilous situations, but also attempts to reclaim her identity.
Mélanie Laurent acts in a remarkable manner and almost single-handedly carries the film during a major portion of it. In the absence of several locales and other ‘living’ actors to share the screen, her facial expressions, tone of voice, and transitions in emotions tell the story.
M.I.L.O. (voiced by Mathieu Amalric)
M.I.L.O. is a computerized voice assistant that runs the pod’s systems. While matter-of-fact and devoid of emotions, M.I.L.O. smoothsunder emotional turbulence by being a comforting presence that aids medically and operationally. Also, it becomes an important character responding to Elizabeth’s vocal commands and joining her in life-saving and truth-seeking endeavours.
Categories and Subjects
- Recognition and Remembrance
An integral part of Oxygen is the concept of memory. What does life become when one of the fragments is sealed off, and for what reason, is completely unknown? The film illustrates the reality when memory becomes the only part of self. As Elizabeth continues to progress, she rediscovers aspects of her past, and she becomes redefined emotionally.
- Tenacity and Elegance of Humanity
The story is dominated by the image of a relentless clock and the concomitant supplies of oxygen. This image captures the essence of the story. In the meantime, it serves the purpose of illustrating the tenacity of the human spirit. In any circumstance, Elizabeth is full of spirit and energy, and is determined to find answers.
- Technology and Trust
One of the main storytellers is the artificial intelligence system called M.I.L.O. It is a tool, not a character with emotion, but its presence raises questions about the role of technology in our lives. In what ways can machines be trusted in life-and-death scenarios? What do we stand to gain, or in what ways will we suffer, when machines meticulously adhere to set parameters but lack the capacity for empathy?
- Isolation and Connection
Although the story is about Elizabeth’s physical isolation, is also about her efforts to transcendentally connect with her own memories, and with the people whom, and the wider objective of the mission, which in time, she progressively reveals. The ability to remain emotionally bonded, even in seclusion, is a gift that she wields, which becomes a source of her power.
Style and direction
One thing Oxygen is known for is to skillfully construct a complex narrative with multiple layers while only using a single location, which is a main feature of the film. The inside of the cryo-chamber is clinical, while also futuristic. Even though the lighting aligns with the rest of the set to create tension, the set angles, and other fanciful additions create a captivating and multi-dimensional viewing experience.
Director Alexandre Aja masterfully manages the pacing from the beginning where there is a very slow and confused almost silent state, to the end where everything speeds up, and the emotions are came to a peak. Every new revelation that Elizabeth uncovers is another puzzle piece that continues to build upon the story. Using a combination of close up shots, digital monitors, and flashback scenes, the film avoids visual monotony, typo or redundancy.
The film’s musical score elevates the atmosphere of a scene without overtaking the story. Given the limited range of locations, the film’s sound design is critical. Every much needed sound, from M.I.L.O’s voice to the whirs of the alarm and machines, tinges the atmosphere of the film with urgency and suspense.
Performances and Impact
The biggest asset of the film Oxygen is Mélanie Laurent, voice and face of Elizabeth. The absence of co-actors for a big portion of the film is compensated by Laurent’s emotional range and ability to convincingly display panic, strength, tenacity, and weakness. Laurent’s captivating performance ingeniously delivered keeps the audience engaged.
The originality of the film, coupled with the emotional depth and the heart racing story, is bound to capture the attention of its viewers. Although it is classified as a science fiction thriller, the film transcends the boundaries of a genre by masterfully intertwining a character driven story that deeply examines human emotions and ethical dilemmas in a world filled with advanced technology.
Conclusion
The real essence of Oxygen transcends survival thriller genre. It’s a multi-layered artistic exploration of life, self-perception, memory and the essence of living. Despite its limited space, the film Oxygen, effectively acted, and intricately woven, engages the audience from the very first to the last frame.
The film does not depend on fast-paced sequences of physical action, and does not revolve on external conflict. It garners tension from inner conflict, profound. Mysterious, and deeply emotional strength. It postulates that the most daunting and arduous fights are the ones we wage against ourselves, the ones we wage against our own doubts and fears and the unfamiliar.”
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