Open Water (12/28/2004)

Rated R for language and nudity.

Directed by Chris Kentis

Starring Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis

Look out . . . shark!

I mean . . . look out . . . student film!!!

Okay . . . maybe that was a little harsh. The film did have some good elements. So in all fairness, I’ll share with you the good before the bad.

THE GOOD
The element of truth: The film is inspired by the 1998 disappearance of Tom and Eileen Lonergan who were left behind by their diving boat off the coast of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. This only strengthens the blow of the film, knowing that something similar to what you see actually happened.

The camera perspective: Chris was smart enough to re-use the haunting camera angle that Spielberg’s cinematographer Bill Butler used in Jaws. Back in 1975 Butler actually designed a special camera housing that would allow the camera to “bob” in and out of the water like the perspective of a swimmer. Chris used this same affect and it gave the film a very realistic feel.

The sharks: Open Water featured real bull sharks and grey reef sharks. No digital affects, no plastic mechanical shark named after his lawyer. In “Open Water” when a shark broke the surface the fins would realistically appear and submerge with the thrash of a tail . . . the way it really would happen . . . a sight you never want to see.

The dollar value: I can’t help to be impressed with what they did for the money. Chris Kentis and his wife Laura Lau made the film for $130,000 with digital video cameras. After a great response at Sundance, Lions Gate bought the film for 2.5 million. By the end of the summer the film raked in about 23 million. Only a handful of films made on a low budget have ever had this kind of success (Halloween, El Mariachi, Blair Witch).

The “Cast Away” element: People are intrigued with “what if” questions. What if you were marooned on an island with no food, water or companionship. What would you do? In 2000 Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks helped us get a peek at that answer in the film “Cast Away.” “Open Water” gives a glimpse at a similar helpless situation. I find myself “coaching” the characters. “No, that’s a terrible idea! Swim you fool!”

THE BAD
The novice B-roll: Despite the film’s creativity and strong plot, I was consistently distracted with bad shots that an editor with greater experience probably could have blended more affectively. From the beginning of the film we saw close ups of hands opening door knobs, bags being placed in a trunk—elements that shouldn’t stick out in a film, but stuck out like a sore thumb in “Open Water.” Now I admit, I’m kind of a film geek. But I sat next to two good ol’ boys who leaned over about two minutes into the film and said something like, “What’s up with the weird filming? Is this a student film or something?”

I think Chris needs to watch Robert Rodriquez’s first film El Mariachi (which was made for a lot less than “Open Water”) and learn from his shooting style. Chris was trying a mix between the reality show look and Hitchcock. It didn’t work. Taking a film with such potential and having a novice shoot and edit it is like allowing my seven year old to try to BarBQ a Filet. Only one in a million will get it right.

The sell out factor: Sometimes directors throw in “out of place” elements for unknown reasons. “Open Water” contained a full frontal nudity scene with Blanchard Ryan for no apparent reason at all. The scene didn’t even make sense. She’s lying on the bed completely naked. When Daniel Travis’ character comes in and snuggles up next to her she rolls over and says, “She’s not in the mood.” Now every man in the world knows that women sometimes just ain’t in the mood. But every man in the world ALSO knows that when a woman ain’t in the mood, she usually doesn’t just lay around the hotel room butt naked. (Try eight year old sweats, an old t-shirt and fuzzy bunny slippers!) Give me a break! I guess he was trying to sell a few extra tickets.

The ending: The film’s ending has created mixed responses. Some critics really liked it. In the theatre I was in, everyone was moaning and groaning. I still don’t know if I liked it or not. In the film’s defense, I was glad it didn’t go the typical Hollywood route. I can see it now: She wrestles sharks down long enough to make the homemade C-4 that she blended together out of the contents found in her wet suit. After blowing up the biggest of the sharks, she swims over to it slowly, and it suddenly awakens and tries to bite her one last time. She screams, “adios muchachos!” and stabs the shark in the eye with her knife, finally killing it, and swimming safely to shore. At least they didn’t insult our intelligence. But I can’t say that the director delivered on his investment. When we spend over an hour of our time in a theatre seat getting to know a main character, we need a return on our investment. “Open Water” turned into Enron stock in the last five minutes.

BOTTOM LINE:
Wait for video for this one. It’s got some good moments, and it will make you think twice about going diving with a bunch of strangers who flunked remedial math.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

1. What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
2. How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
3. How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?