No Limit (Sous Emprise) is a sports-drama-romance movie written and directed by David M. Rosenthal and stars Camille Rowe, Sofiane Zermani, and César Domboy, alongside other cast members. The movie has a runtime of 118 minutes and is loosely based on the life of French freediver Audrey Mestre.
Netflix describes the movie as:
An extraordinarily talented young woman finds deep, destructive love with her record-holding freediving instructor in this visually arresting romantic drama.
– No Limit Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
If there’s anything scarier to me personally, it is diving into the unknown to the depths of the ocean without any air. Free diving is probably the scariest thing I can think of doing; thus, watching adults take this up as a sport and/or a hobby is personally triggering.
Personal anecdotes aside, it’s weirdly freeing watching No Limits, only if to see people overcome the thing that you are afraid of. Roxana, our protagonist, clearly has some mental health issues that are mentioned briefly just as the movie starts, and we jump straight into the water with her as we understand her connection with it.
But, more than Roxana we have Pascal, her surprise boyfriend who is a free-diving star. After a quick romance and some fun sex, Pascal tries to do the impossible and break a shocking world record. At 175 metres, the risks are extreme, but that just makes this toxic love more interesting, isn’t it?
No Limit is a beautiful love letter to everyone who is thinking of getting into a toxic relationship after getting out of one. The film looks absolutely stunning, and you’ll be arrested as you watch these divers go down to the depths of the blue ocean.
It’ll scare you as well – as the lights dim, flicker and then disappear into the depths of the ocean, you’ll be left scared out of your mind. The relationship between Roxana and Pascal is just as problematic as you’d expect, which is what makes this such a passionate and arresting watch.
You see this like a car crash waiting to happen – both of our protagonists, battling their own issues and problems, try to tackle something that cannot end well for either of them. Towards the halfway point, you understand the dangerous effects that these two have on each other, and you just wait and watch to see the aftermath.
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I think No Limit went too deep, too fast, at least in the first half. We go too fast without knowing any of our protagonists too well. Their characters open up slowly later on, of course, but at first, we just jump into the introduction and the love story without much thought.
It’s interesting how the movie tries to portray Pascal as this broken man who simply wants to reclaim his life, but he’s just not a good person. He constantly tries to test the limits and throws a fit when he doesn’t get his way – the proof of an emotionally stunted man out to undo the past. It’s sorta sad but a whole lot of annoying watching him, which later on turns straight up dangerous.
On the other hand, we have Roxana, who has something to prove to herself and the world – to prove everyone wrong. She has issues as well and jumps into this relationship with stars in her eyes. As she finds her footing, you really root for her to get out of this madness.
In the end, it’s this silliness that takes you out of the movie. The question isn’t whether either of them will live to tell the tale of another dangerous dive. The question is whether they’ll be able to get out of this toxic relationship without losing their lives.
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I am glad that the movie doesn’t show this as a positive; it showcases this craziness with doom and foreboding. The relationship is as hopeless as diving, and sometimes you feel tired of watching this going on. You know this is bad news, she knows this is bad news, but she still lets this random guy run her life like it’s no one’s business. You want her to find her voice somewhere along this toxicity, but does she?
Camille Rowe spends a lot of her movies underwater, with 2021’s The Deep House being another movie shot underwater. That was an interesting watch, and she is just as good in her 2022 release as well. Sofiane Zermani is good as well, as he looks the part of the toxic playboy you shouldn’t be following to the depths of the water for.
Summing Up: No Limit
No Limit is the PSA to get out of the toxic relationship if you’re currently in one and reminds us not to follow our spouses’ dreams. The movie looks great, and you feel terribly for the protagonist as she tries to implode her life every step of the way.
No Limit is streaming on Netflix.