PUNTA GORDA, Florida (14 August 2004) -- Sometimes movie tag lines are accurate. Most of the time they're not. Once in a great while, you get one that's not only truthful, but also unintentionally funny and self-deprecating. The tag line for this drama/thriller reads "Drifting into theaters this summer." The use of the word "drifting" couldn't be more accurate. "Drifting" as in taking its time — time it doesn't have. "Drifting" as in moving without direction. "Drifting" as in going nowhere in particular without much rhyme or reason. Allegedly based on true events, "Open Water" is being spun by the studio as a cross between "The Blair Witch Project" and "Jaws." Technically, they're right. Like "Blair Witch," it was shot mostly with hand-held video. Like "Jaws," it takes place mostly in water and there are sharks present. You'd think ANY movie involving people trapped at sea and being eyed by sharks for dinner would work. Not here. Not even a little bit. Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) are a workaholic married couple in desperate need of some down time. Because of their hectic schedules, they had to settle for a last minute scuba excursion neither seems very excited about. Any competent first-year film student could have gotten this point across and out of the way in two minutes time. For some unfathomable reason, writer/director Chris Kentis takes nearly a half hour to do so. Considering the film is only 79 minutes total, 30 minutes is a long time. When it's over, you can understand why Kentis took so long — there's next to nothing of a story. Because of a major blunder on the part of their cruise directors, stragglers Daniel and Susan are left behind when the ship pulls anchor and returns to shore. For eight or so hours, the pair floats along in the middle of nowhere, mostly complaining about being hungry and each other's "bathroom" breaks. | | When a shark appears and takes a nibble of one of them, the legitimate fear kicks in. Finally, the movie's getting somewhere. The fear leads to panic and then to finger-pointing and then finally to an eerie kind of acceptance. What's also eerie and disconcerting is the inability for us to root or even care about what happens to Daniel and Susan. Kentis' sole achievement is in ending the movie in a most unconventional and unpredictable manner. But even that gets ruined when he inserts what appears to be a bit of comic relief during the credits. It's not funny and essentially insults the audience. If you've seen the trailer — a very well-crafted trailer — you've seen absolutely everything this movie has to offer. SOURCE - Gwinnett Daily PostCDNN Related NewsOpen Water: The True Story Behind the MovieDive industry totally against us say Lonergan's parentsOpen Water: Maybe diving in Australia is a bad thingDive Queensland bent on bashing 'Open Water' filmOpen Water: Over-hyped and underdevelopedNot so chummy: Open Water a boring stuntDrowning in Open Water, DEMA spins out of controlOpen Water movie takes hefty $1 million box office biteHollywood's 'Open Water' film earns rave reviews |
