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41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I don't see why everyone hates this, February 25, 2005
This movie is not the next "Jaws", and it is not your typical scary shark movie. It's more than that. There is very little gore and no actual violence (that is seen). There are some surprising and startling parts of this movie (when the sharks fins crop up out of the water), but you won't be white-knuckled for most of it. Think of it as more of a drama/suspense, not an action, scary or horror film. It's more about the couples' war between themselves.
It is still very scary, but a different type of scary: tense and psychological. Much of the tension is only in your head. You will ask yourself "where are the sharks?". As Daniel Travis says, "I don't know what's worse: seeing them or not seeing them."
Director Chris Kentis filmed the movie with a digital, hand-held video camera (giving it a "home video" type of feel). Also, this movie was very low budget, so Kentis couldn't afford any Spielberg type of special effects. So what did he do? He took the actors and dumped them into real shark-infested waters! Therefore, you can sense that some of the actors' fears are genuine. These two things make the movie very realistic.
PLOT/SCREENPLAY: The couple, played by the unknown actors Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis, go on vacation. On their vacation, they go scuba diving, and after a miscount, are mistakenly left all alone, in the middle of the ocean. They tread water for most of the movie, talking to themselves and watching for sharks. The couple try to live through jellyfish, bouts of vomiting, and themselves.
I was impressed with the plot. It's a rather simple one, but I felt the script did a lot more with the plot then I had expected. The plot's basis was based on a true event, so that makes it all that more scary. The only problem with the plot is that the end is somewhat anti-climatic.
DIALOUGE: The couple have nothing else to do but talk to eachother. The dialogue shows their moods shift from optimisitic, depressed, angry, in denial, casting blame on one another, tired, hungry, and finally submissive.
Some people say the movie didn't tell us enough about the characters for us to care about them, but I disagree. The dialogue helped to develop the characters and give them depth (make them seem like real people). The dialogue also helped the plot to extend over the course of 79 minutes without wearing thin. It's also very interesting to see that the dialogue shows how their moods change.
ACTING: As aforementioned, some of the actor's fears are genuine (since the sharks were real), so there's no problem believing the actors are scared, but when the actors change (and become angry and depressed) you can really feel what they're feeling. It may be partly due to the "home video" feature (which helps to capture the atmosphere), but the viewer almost feels like you are stranded in the ocean with the actors.
In conclusion, this movie was very well made and I recommend it (especially to "Jaws" fans, even though this movie is not very much like it). I also recommend it to fans of psychologically scary movies. It is not for those that are easily scared; it will make you never want to go into even the swimming pool again.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fine Indie Film...Excellent DVD Package, March 22, 2005
This review refers to "Open Water",Widescreen DVD(Lion's Gate)...
"Open Water" is a very well made independent film, written, directed, and produced by husband and wife team Chris Kentis and Laura Lau. It's made on a small budget and uses unknown actors, Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis, both turning in fine performances, to tell the story. It is not a thriller in terms of an edge of your seat, nail biting, jumping off your seat, or hiding your eyes "Jaws" type of film. Rather it is a low-keyed, but tense look at an everyday couple who get left behind on a SCUBA diving outing.
I saw this film as more of a character study of the couple as they go through an entire range of emotions, while wondering when they will finally be rescued. At first, the calm, thinking only, it was a silly mistake, then anger and fear set in. Dealing with hunger and thirst, fatigue, and the elements of the sea, including injuries from Jellly Fish and visits from some menacing Sharks, they try to endure, waiting for someone, anyone to save them.
If you are looking for a fast-paced thriller, pass this one by. The film runs almost and hour and a half and for the most part, focuses on the couple and the water, with an occassional glimpse of the normality going on on the Island they left behind. The film almost looks like a home movie, but a really well made home movie. It is one that will make you think though. What would you do if this happened to you? Based on an actual event, writer/directer Kentis puts his own mark on it. If you think this may be your kind of film, you may want to rent it first, as although a fine film, it is probably not one that will stand up to many repeated viewings.
If you have seen it, and know you like it, you will be happy with this DVD. Although I think it's a little on the expensive side for an Indie, you get quite a bit for your money. First of all the transfer is very nice. Excellent picture in widescreen, taking in the vast sea, and the colors are a stand out. Audio options are English,Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 6.1 and DD Stereo. You are totally surrounded by the sound of the ocean, and the haunting Island music sounds great as well. There are subtitles in English and Spanish. Special Features include commentary, The Indie Essentials filmmaker guide to marketing a movie,and On the High Seas: Making Open Water featurette (this was a really good look at what it takes to begin filmmaking).
A good view for aspiring filmmakers, or those wanting to check out a fine film, from a young filmmaker who will surely give us more thought provoking pieces in the future. It is rated R for some nudity and language.
Check it out...Laurie
also recommended:
Film-Fest DVD - Issue 3 - Toronto
Short 6 - Insanity
Love Liza
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Um . . . Who Were These People Again?, January 17, 2005
So what's up with this film? It received incredible hype at the Sundance Film Festival (and others) and was eventually picked up by Lion's Gate Entertainment for release to a more wide audience. Impressive. Especially for a film shot with a digital camera, and the entire cost of production being picked up by a husband and wife team.
As far as production goes, I've got no complaints. The fact that it WAS filmed on a low budget and by one family fills me with respect for this effort. Congratulations to Mr. Chris Kentis and his lovely wife. You've done a great job filming and editing it.
But . . .
Who were these people? And what I mean by that is, well . . . who were they! Okay. Okay. Let me explain. I just finished watching the film, but I have no idea WHO the husband and wife portrayed in the movie are! Are they near divorce? Why don't they have sex in their room when they're both naked and the husband starts making advances? Why does the wife turn him away, and why does he turn away from her? Has the wife had a miscarriage or something? Was there a recent infidelity by one of them?
I'll explain the problem in three simple words: needed character development.
The film is only 81 minutes long, so there was room for at least a few minutes of character development (in the beginning or even in flashbacks when they're left out on the sea). Cost must have been an issue (I mean, a low budget film taken on by two people surely must have had time constraints and budgetary concerns), but from a viewer perspective, the story felt too hollow. Again, let me explain.
This film is based on a true story about two divers (a husband and wife) who were left out near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia (although this version of the story doesn't take place there) during an excursion on a group boating tour. Their bodies were never found (read Bill Bryson's "In A Sunburned Country" for a nice little recounting of the disaster). In the "real story" there were assumptions of suicide by the husband and marital problems. Something that could've been developed nicely in a film such as this. But no. Here we're left to guess about the relationship and its dynamics. The only glimpse into these poor saps lives that the filmmakers give us is that they're both very busy people with little time for each other (DUH! That accounts for about 85% of relationships out there!).
So when "bad things" began happening to them - Jellyfish stings, sharks nibbling on `em - I had absolutely no empathy. "Oh look, one of them just lost a pound of flesh. Oh well."
If you want me to care about the people I'm watching, you need to SHOW ME why I should. People die all the time (war, famine, murder, or, as in this story, by the incompetence of the diving company that took the divers out there in the first place).
Next time, Mr. Kentis, please remember: character, character, character.
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