After somehow getting the title confused for years with the Nicole Kidman starring, 1995 Gus Van Sant movie To Die For, (I guess that I got mixed up thanks to both of these Kidman films having a connection with death in the titles!)I was pleasantly caught off guard,when a very kind IMDb'er recently gave me the chance to find out how calm these deadly waters really are.
The plot:
Struggling to cope over the death of their young son in a car crash,Rae and John Ingram decide to set sail on boat to the high seas,in the hope that they will both be able to find some sort of spiritual peace from the endless sea.Being in the middle of nowhere with no islands in sight,Rae and John are surprised to spot an abandoned boat that has been left out at sea.Attempting to make contact via radio,the Ingram's notice a man sailing towards them from the ship in a lifeboat.
Jumping out of the lifeboat,the man reveals himself to be Hughie Warriner,who claims that he is the only survivor on the ship,after a hole in the boat started it to sink,and also a deadly case of food poisoning killing all of Warriner's other crew members.Sensing a strong amount of anxiousness from Hughie,John decides to leave Rae to relax on the boat as Warriner's sleeps so that he can take a close look at the sinking ship,which John will discovers contains a horror that will set the storm alight.
View on the film:
Limiting almost the whole movie to 3 locations, (including the sea!) director Phillip Noyce shows a skillful eye in taking advantage of the movies limited locations,thanks to Noyce using tightly coiled side angle's,which along with creating a claustrophobic atmosphere,also show that the Ingram's have no where to escape from the terror that has crashed into their boat.
Whilst the movie does feature a few moments of questionable logic, (if you ever get the chance to knock the psycho out,don't let the nutter just sleep it off!) writer Terry Hayes adaptation of Charles Williams novel keeps the film sailing on the high seas,as Hayes gradually cranks up the Thriller's tension to a lightning fast pace.Along with the razor sharp Thriller elements,Hayes also makes sure to never lose sight of the spiritual healing that the Ingram's have gone in search for,with Hayes showing the deadly dangers that they face,to be a thread which sows John and Rae's relationship together.
Getting aboard a boat 8 years before he was to set sail with director James Cameron on an obscure 1997 film,Billy Zane gives a chilling performance as Warriner,with Zane showing Warriner's creepy vibe pour out of his skin,as he begins targeting the Ingram's by showing them that only Hughie is the one who is allowed control of the boat.
Although they have a 20 year gap between each other,Sam Neil and Nicole Kidman each give strong performances,with Neil subtlety showing the sun fade from John's face as he starts fearing for his wife,whilst Kidman gradually transforms Rae from a fragile shell,into an extremely focus woman,whose determined to make sure that she and John survive the deadly calm high tide which has landed on their boat.
The plot:
Struggling to cope over the death of their young son in a car crash,Rae and John Ingram decide to set sail on boat to the high seas,in the hope that they will both be able to find some sort of spiritual peace from the endless sea.Being in the middle of nowhere with no islands in sight,Rae and John are surprised to spot an abandoned boat that has been left out at sea.Attempting to make contact via radio,the Ingram's notice a man sailing towards them from the ship in a lifeboat.
Jumping out of the lifeboat,the man reveals himself to be Hughie Warriner,who claims that he is the only survivor on the ship,after a hole in the boat started it to sink,and also a deadly case of food poisoning killing all of Warriner's other crew members.Sensing a strong amount of anxiousness from Hughie,John decides to leave Rae to relax on the boat as Warriner's sleeps so that he can take a close look at the sinking ship,which John will discovers contains a horror that will set the storm alight.
View on the film:
Limiting almost the whole movie to 3 locations, (including the sea!) director Phillip Noyce shows a skillful eye in taking advantage of the movies limited locations,thanks to Noyce using tightly coiled side angle's,which along with creating a claustrophobic atmosphere,also show that the Ingram's have no where to escape from the terror that has crashed into their boat.
Whilst the movie does feature a few moments of questionable logic, (if you ever get the chance to knock the psycho out,don't let the nutter just sleep it off!) writer Terry Hayes adaptation of Charles Williams novel keeps the film sailing on the high seas,as Hayes gradually cranks up the Thriller's tension to a lightning fast pace.Along with the razor sharp Thriller elements,Hayes also makes sure to never lose sight of the spiritual healing that the Ingram's have gone in search for,with Hayes showing the deadly dangers that they face,to be a thread which sows John and Rae's relationship together.
Getting aboard a boat 8 years before he was to set sail with director James Cameron on an obscure 1997 film,Billy Zane gives a chilling performance as Warriner,with Zane showing Warriner's creepy vibe pour out of his skin,as he begins targeting the Ingram's by showing them that only Hughie is the one who is allowed control of the boat.
Although they have a 20 year gap between each other,Sam Neil and Nicole Kidman each give strong performances,with Neil subtlety showing the sun fade from John's face as he starts fearing for his wife,whilst Kidman gradually transforms Rae from a fragile shell,into an extremely focus woman,whose determined to make sure that she and John survive the deadly calm high tide which has landed on their boat.