Oxygen

Plot Summary

Cryogenic units are a type of medical equipment used to bew the patients’ body temperatures and maintain hypothermiq conditions to extreme conditions of around −320 °F (−196 °C). One such unit allows the ‘patient’ to somehow, albeit unconsciously, breathe oxygen and maintain a level of oxygen. She becomes ‘Liz’ as she learns from some of the half-formed clues to her identity. The rest of her oxygen she learns is falling rapidly and she is in no real physical danger, yet is being assisted (and at times, thwarted) by some advanced A.I. called MILO (Medical Interface Liaison Officer). One crucial piece of information is the Pod seems to need a set administrator code before it will open.

The A.I. interfaces with what looks like a wristwatch, with limited cognitive resources. Liz is a ‘cryogenic doctor’ and is romantically linked with Léo Ferguson. The routine and process associated with cryogenic units suggests that patients undergoing such procedures are subjected to some distorting conditions that are hallucinogenic, cathartic, and at times, obsessive. Disengagement from some voluntary cognitive mechanisms allows such patients to simplify psychological overtoppings and deal with major depressive disorders.

At the end of the story, it is revealed that Hansen has been a passenger of the Colony star ship for twelve years, spending this time in hypersleep due to the secret nature of the mission, which is interstellar in nature. Civilization on Earth is on the brink of collapsing due to a deadly virus, and so to, along with thousands of others, Hansen is being relocated to a planet fourteen light years away. This is but a side effect of a malfunction that resulted in the rest of the passengers being lost. Hansen learns that she is a genetic clone of the Elizabeth Hansen with implants, and so is Léo. Hypersleep is defined as the period of time, Hansen being the only recorded case of a successful adaptive. Hansen also learns that in the rest of the malfunctioned ships, there were frozen and dead colonists, and oxygen which was reclaimed was needed for the survival of Lander. The story ends with Lander and Hansen clones awakening in a new home planet, as if having been waiting for this moment for eternity.

The tone, theme, and overall layout of this story is completely different and has a whole new meaning.

The growing sense of anxiety and desperation is reflected in the loss of oxygen. The nervousness escalates as time goes on, creating real tension.

The question the film poses, and the struggle then develops around the identity, recollection of which is most important.

Ethical Concerns: The science and ethics of cloning, transferring memories, lost in a state of consciousness, sacrificing non-essential systems, euthanasia protocols— all of these are problematic. Is cloning a person acceptable? Is withdrawing life support ethical? These are the questions that require answers.

Survival & Sacrifice: Liz is forced to make difficult choices under pressure— Hopeful while at the same time fearful of the idea of losing someone.

The film uses intense close-ups, with dim light, the blaring of alarms, and the AI (artificial intelligence) all adding to the overwhelming tension. Voice of the AI and feedback screens are Liz’s constant companions and increase her loneliness and enigma of her surroundings.

Critical Reception

The film has been generally well received. The strong leading performances, especially from Mélanie Laurent, and the inventive premise that manages to create suspense throughout a singular confined location, are highlights of the film.

Some critiques hone in on the more predictable elements of the film (Certain twists, once revealed, will appear to be predictable) or how the logic or details of science in the film is too far stretched for the sake of drama.

The sadness and emotional weight of the film’s last reveal, the identity of the clone, the purpose of the mission, the virus, and so on, is for many viewers, deeply affecting. Some, however, believe that given the premise, the resolution is a bit too neat or tidy.

Concluding Remarks

While other works thrive on multiple settings and contexts, the case of Oxygen (2021) appears to thrive on the opposite principle. Here, the viewer is presented with a conservation pod, a sad, failing life support system, and a void that allows their imagination to roam. Even with the constraints Oxygen imposes on its narrative scope, exploring the contours of the foremost survival story is a riveting experience. The absence of a person’s own memories is, unbearably, balanced on the paradox of their humanity. Oxygen masterfully captures each of these intricacies and more, while meditating on the ache of identity, loss, and grief.