Film: The Shallows
Cast: Blake Lively
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Rating:
Truth is, The Shallows isn't quite Jaws. It isn't Deep Blue Sea. This isn't that kind of shark movie. The shark isn't ever given the credence of being a character. Nor is it genetically modified to be smarter. And in a sense, that's why it makes for such gripping viewing.
Because, It's all about survival.
Here's what's astonishingly good about The Shallows. The bitingly beautiful shots of the blue ocean are captivating to the point where you don't miss not having too many characters to focus on - save for the ravishing Blake Lively, a charming seagull with an injured wing (whom she whimsically names Steven Seagull in a fit of sardonic inspiration) and a prowling great white shark. And we have cinematographer Flavio Labiano to thank for all that imagery.
Lively plays medical student Nancy Adams, who visits a secluded 'secret' beach off the coast of Mexico, as a sort of tribute to her recently deceased mother. Like her mother before her, she is kicked about the idea of surfing the waves of this gorgeous, blue inlet with waves to kill for and a shallow seabed. All the exhilaration of surfing in paradise goes for a swim when a mammoth great white shark looks to wrap up lunch. With Lively. Of Lively, really.
Hampered by a large gash caused by the attacking shark, Lively scrambles to reach a rock that only stays above water when the tide rolls out. Unlike most other other shark attack movies, The Shallows stands apart because it isn't a quick film. Over two whole nights and one very long day, we're privy to Lively's range of sinking emotion - from exhilaration to hope to despair to desperation to gallows humour. Incidentally, whoever thought of putting a seagull on the rock with her - as a stodgy companion - really struck gold.
As the shark keeps circling the stranded surfer, who's incidentally bleeding out slowly, you find yourself wondering how on earth she can possibly make it out alive, without the shark either swimming away out of sheer boredom or catching a quick snooze (sharks do sleep BTW!). Especially when all the usual avenues - the only two other surfers who use the beach, as distant ship and a drunk drifter - had all come and been chomped on (the ship is an exception, though the shark may have been up for the challenge on later evidence).
That sense of sheer anticipation is what makes The Shallows tick. Beyond the raw emotion, the tantalisingly beautiful visuals and the invigorating background score.
It's not easy to pull off a 86 minute film with a single central human character. Especially when this isn't Gravity. Or Phone Booth even, which would be a slightly more equitable comparison, because the people in the back stories have faces and voices. Blake Lively and director Jaume Collet-Serra come frighteningly close to knocking it out of the park.
Sure, you may find the going a little monotonous here and there, but that's the beauty of survival tales. You know who's going to survive. You can let your mind wander a wee bit to figure out the 'how' and 'why' in between the Shark vs Lively scenes.
If your mind is transfixed, enjoy the bout. It seldom gets rawer and looks this good.