★ 6 / 10
Perfect example of why you should check out
tmdb47633491
Perfect example of why you should check out all the movies that doggy paddled away with an average 3/5 or 6/10 or whatever. For a large minority, it's not that…
Perfect example of why you should check out all the movies that doggy paddled away with an average 3/5 or 6/10 or whatever. For a large minority, it's not that they're simply average; it's that they were barely given a chance
Read full review
★ 8 / 10
Stay calm and you may yet not end
John Chard
Stay calm and you may yet not end up dead. Dead Calm is directed by Phillip Noyce and adapted to screenplay by Terry Hayes from the novel of the same name…
Stay calm and you may yet not end up dead.
Dead Calm is directed by Phillip Noyce and adapted to screenplay by Terry Hayes from the novel of the same name written by Charles Williams. It stars Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane. Music is by Graeme Revell and cinematography by Dean Semler.
After losing their young son in a car accident, John (Neill) and Rae Ingram (Kidman) head out alone on their yacht for an ocean vacation. Whilst taking in some R&R, the couple spy a ship drifting in the distance, then a man in a dinghy hurriedly rows towards them. He boards their yacht, frantic and panicked, he tells them the ship is sinking and that all on board are dead, killed by food poisoning. His name is Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane), and the Ingram's are about to wish they had never met him....
The Saracen and The Orpheus.
It's so refreshing to find a thriller that works without tricks or elaborate plotting, where the narrative is stripped down to the bare bones and played out purely by three characters. Dead Calm, whilst not exactly the most credible of thrillers from the 80s, contains genuine suspense, a pot boiling heart and production value of some distinction. Director Noyce deals in psychological studies, primarily that of a lunatic and that of a woman beset with grief having to use her mental fortitude to hopefully save herself and her husband.
Noyce and his team get the maximum amount of edge of the seat thrills from a small isolated yacht in the middle of a vast ocean, with tight camera work and nifty editing, it's a film of quality that belies its pared back production. Even ace Aussie photographer Semler (previously Mad Max 2/Razorback, latterly Dances With Wolves/Waterworld) creates beauty out of such a sparse set up, where the blues and greens of the ocean warm the soul and the red sunsets please the eyes. They be glimpses of Mother Earth that give the Ingram's something tangible to fight for.
With the plot requiring Neill to be in his own isolated hell, he turns in a more measured performance, perfect in fact, but it's Zane and Kidman who steal the show. This would prove to be the launching point of Kidman's career, and it hints at the top actress she would become. She gives Rae Ingram a real strength through adversity, with energy in abundance, intelligence and a simmering sexuality, she's a lady character earning respect by film lovers because of Kidman's performance. Zane is suitably edgy, very much giving Hughie a man-child persona, he too exudes a dangerous sexuality, and when it inevitably kicks off, he is scary into the bargain.
A couple of daft character decisions within the story, and a WTF finale, stop it from being near the top of the thriller movie pantheon. But it's not far off from sitting with the best and it remains fresh and entertaining as the decades roll by. 8/10
Read full review
★ 8 / 10
Setting the tone for 90's thrillers...and it thrills!
Stay_away_from_the_Metropol
I was most inspired to check this out knowing it was Nicole Kidman's breakthrough performance. Once you get into the movie it somehow feels like a cross…
I was most inspired to check this out knowing it was Nicole Kidman's breakthrough performance. Once you get into the movie it somehow feels like a cross between Event Horizon and, like, Titanic, but in the form of a 90's style thriller, which I suppose you have to give it a little extra credit for considering it's from 1989, so the vibe probably played a part in inspiring some of the vibe of 90's films.Halfway through, I wasn't sure I was going to be a fan of this movie, but the last half hour hits in just the right ways to the extent that it makes the whole movie worthwhile. It's why thrillers are called thrillers - it's thrilling as hell. Up until those satisfying scenes, it just felt like an extremely formulaic experience - and Billy Zane is kind of a hard sell. Zane is, at least bizarre - as usual. His energy is always jarring but I feel like it's most jarring when it's not supposed to be, less so when it is. Kidman definitely steals the show but all three leads have strong enough presences to round the movie out well. I also enjoyed the somewhat zany music score - felt very Australian.This is a quick, painless viewing so there's no point not to see it if you're interested in 80's/90's thrillers or curious to see where Kidman and Zane had their beginnings. Solid flick!
Read full review
84%
TOMATOMETER
· 32 reviews
63%
AUDIENCE
· 25K ratings
6.8/10
49.3K
•••
Well, a lot better than all the modern movies they make now.