A woman wakes in a cryogenic medical capsule with no recollection of who she is or how she got there. Worse still her oxygen is running out, can she find a way out in time? 

When I began to watch Oxygen all that I knew was that it was in some way similar to Buried, a 2010 film starring Ryan Reynolds. But whilst the initial set up is similar and the film consists almost entirely of one actor trapped in a tiny location that is where the similarity ends. It was a pleasant surprise to find that this was very much a film inspired and shaped by our pandemic lockdown with a science fiction tinge. 

The film’s cast almost entirely consists of Melanie Laurent as the young woman trapped and Mathieu Amalric as the capsule’s A.I. named M.I.L.O. Their performances are superb and take the weight of the entire film. 

As the story unfolds screenwriter Christie LeBlanc expertly teases and times the release of more and more clues and twists to what is really going on. Whilst director Alexandre Aja utilises the claustrophobia well with the occasional surprise. 

An enjoyable high concept science fiction film.