Black Sea
Dir: Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, David Threlfall,
Tobias Menzies, Michael Smiley, Karl Davies, Daniel Ryan, Konstantin
Khabenskiy, Bobby Schofield, and Grigoriy Dobrygin
Many films have found success by putting a group of people
in a confining space and letting human nature take its strange course. Place
variables like an alien trying to get into a barricaded room, the decision
lingering for a jury of clashing personalities, or the quest for gold at the bottom
of the ocean inside the belly of a claustrophobic submarine and you have the
makings of good storytelling. That finishing submarine scenario is the subject
of Kevin Macdonald’s underwater thriller “Black Sea”, a film that succeeds in
building suspense and remaining exciting even though it becomes a familiar and
predictable story.
A recently laid off submarine captain named Robinson (Jude
Law) comes across valuable information concerning a German U-boat that was lost
in the depths of the Black Sea and contains a life-changing amount of gold
Russia paid Germany during World War II. Robinson is angry with the company
that he loyally served, a job that kept him away from his family and created a
rift in his marriage that ultimately led to a divorce. Robinson dreams of better
times with his family but only awakens to unhappiness; this leads him to an
American financer who endorses the voyage to the depths in a corroding
submarine with a group of men equally as discontent.
Greed and desperation are two themes that Macdonald utilizes
effectively. At the core of this story is simply a group of men trapped in a
submarine, a vessel filled with hopefulness that quickly turns into a container
of deteriorating life support. Robinson lets the men know from the beginning
that the treasures will be split equally, it doesn’t take long for the men to
realize that less people means more money and greed takes over. This leads to
disaster for the submarine then desperation for the men and their lives, but
also their fortune that is within grasp. On board the submarine is a diverse
crew of Russian and British men, a device cleverly used by Macdonald to
instantly draw the lines of allegiances between the groups. Add into the mix
the role of an American broker named Daniels (Scoot McNairy) and a young
homeless teenager named Tobin (Bobby Schofield) and the narrative becomes prime
with character motivations.
Unfortunately these characters all fall into easily identified
categories that make decisions that become overly predictable. While this isn’t
always a bad thing, especially in a film like this, it does make the holes in
the narrative seem even larger. The decision to limit the transitions between
underwater scenes that display a moving submarine and the interior confinements
of a submarine creates great claustrophobic atmosphere, though in parts it also
restricts the space inside the submarine making the movements throughout seem somewhat
confusing.
Jude Law is excellent here, changing Captain Robinson
emotionally throughout the journey. He begins as the levelheaded leader and
moves into an obsessed tyrant with ease. The remaining cast is also good even
though they are unsurprising and familiar characters, however the performances
keep together the loose ends that periodically snag the viewer out of the film.
“Black Sea” is one of those films that pleasingly occupies
time for an impromptu movie decision. While there is nothing terribly wrong
with this film, there is also not much that is especially memorable either.
Amongst the weekly barrage of new releases at the movie theater, it’s still
nice to have something that is purely and simply entertaining.
Monte’s Rating
3.25 out of 5.00
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