I thought I’d watched this before, years ago around the time of release, but I’m not so sure. Maybe I just saw the poster. I’ve favourable memories of it for whatever reason, which might seem a bit shallow. John (Sam Neill), a navel officer, comes home to some bad news, losing his son in a car crash. He nearly lost his wife Rae (Nicole Kidman) too. She survived but is unsurprisingly traumatised. So they head out on their boat, alone, for some space on the ocean, some time to grieve in the calm seas. That’s the idea anyway. All is well until a battered boat appears on the horizon. Its only living passenger is Hughie (Billy Zane), who tells a story of his food poisoned mates, now dead on board his sinking schooner, after he rows to John and Rae’s and apologises for ruining their day. The calm is well and truly over. I say his story, it’s clear he’s hiding something. Zane has the face for this doesn’t he. What is it about his eyes and demeanour that suggests he’s not to be trusted. Rae empathises with his traumatic tale, but John doesn’t trust him, smells a rat. Something that’s confirmed when he finds bodies on Hughie’s boat and finds himself alone in a dinghy, as Hughie steals his boat with Rae aboard! It’s a gripping set up, but sadly this is as good as it gets. John has to use all his seamanship to salvage Hughie’s abandoned death boat and rescue Rae. Neill is great, Kidman is too, Zane is over the top. Granted the role calls for unhinged psychotic but it’s a bit much. After its frantic start, the second act is all about the slow building tension, as Rae tries to thwart Hughie’s plans and John tries to stay afloat. This is its big issue, for far too long it just treads water. Kidman isn’t given enough to work with and Zane just isn’t strong enough. His role needs some menace, but he’s too cartoon like to carry it. Thank god it all takes place in cramped spaces, the setting really is the only thing to make this tick. That and wanting to see Hughie get a bloody monumental kicking. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either and certainly not as good as I’ve remembered or made up in my head.
5/10
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