The Shallows (B or 3/4 stars)
It's the beginning of summer, people. If you're looking for a fun little jump-out-of-your-seat shark thriller to catch in an air-conditioned multiplex, then 'The Shallows' (directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, of Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night) affords you that opportunity -- it ain't no Jaws, but it'll do. The lean-but-mean plot recalls elements from Open Water, 127 Hours, All is Lost and - of course - Jaws. With little need for exposition {thankfully}, we find out quickly that our heroine Nancy Adams (Blake Lively) has temporarily dropped out of med school & traveled to a secluded Mexican beach where she plans to surf while honoring her mother's memory. Everything is great for a while (she preps to surf, rides some gnarly waves, looks out at the tranquil horizon, encounters a couple of male surfers).
But roughly 200 yards offshore, Nancy becomes the main target of an enormous great white shark after she inadvertently enters its feeding territory {poor whale}. She survives the initial encounter {grisly} & manages to make it to a small islet (along with a seagull friend) where she uses her medical student skills to close the gushing wound {what a scene!!}. As darkness falls and sight is nil and temperatures drop, she realizes she's in a race against time - when high tide arrives in 12 hours, her little rock island will be under water & there will be absolutely nothing to prevent said shark from chomping her to bits {she's seen what it can do to other humans during the course of this film}. Everything culminates in a heart racing, if somewhat implausible {so was Jaws} battle of wits & strength with the Great White.
'The Shallows' pulls us in the minute Nancy grabs her surfboard & splashes into the ocean. You know, it's hard for any movie to follow a lone character for some 85 minutes. Recent examples include said 127 Hours (James Franco trapped by a collapsed boulder) & All is Lost (Robert Redford adrift at sea). This film follows their lead by getting into Nancy's psyche. For her, this situation is especially frustrating because she can actually see safety - but there's no one to help. She's also in immense pain, suffering from blood loss, dehydration, & doomed if she leaves her rock. The shark, itself, is just like Jaws - big, powerful, & relentless. Director Collet-Serra, keeps us engaged by continually ratcheting up the stress level. The approach of high tide represents a type of arm-gripping tension as we watch the clock countdown and Nancy's deadly isolation starts to take hold. At least he has someone/thing to talk to - in this case, her scene-stealing injured sea gull pal.
Blake Lively is probably in 80 of the film's 85 minutes gives a thoroughly compelling performance. Her Nancy is alone, hurt, trapped, scared, but still manages to stitch up her thigh, make a video (with a floating Go Pro), & try to overcome the shark. Lively has been good in other films (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, 2010's The Town, and especially last yr.'s surprisingly stellar The Age of Adeline. We'll see how she fares later this yr. in Woody Allen's Cafe Society), but none of those roles have required this degree of physicality, commitment, or emotional turmoil. The harrowing scene where Nancy must stitch her wound with jewelry, some cloth, and NO anesthetic is played to perfection. I'm very impressed by Lively as of late; sure she's beautiful, but she's ably carried 2 movies now on her shoulders.
Visually, 'The Shallows' is pretty cool, as well. The underwater shots are gorgeous. I liked the inventiveness of seeing cameras (Go Pro), cell phones (texting, picture scrolling), & watches (countdowns) utilized to give information, heft, & importance to whatever Nancy is going through in-the-moment. And while the CGI isn't perfect (some of the shark shots look fake in a fun Sharknado way), plenty of the images are spot-on, realistic, & made me leap from my seat. So yeah, 'The Shallows' offers some campy, gory, B-movie fun. The climactic battle of woman-vs.-nature is a bit much in the end; as rousing as it is ludicrous (perhaps the filmmakers didn't quite know how to wrap things up). But I enjoyed 'The Shallows' in a sort of ridiculous-yet-escapist-fun kind of way. And it'll give a new generation of beachgoers something to ponder when wading out in the sea this summer. Da-dummm.
But roughly 200 yards offshore, Nancy becomes the main target of an enormous great white shark after she inadvertently enters its feeding territory {poor whale}. She survives the initial encounter {grisly} & manages to make it to a small islet (along with a seagull friend) where she uses her medical student skills to close the gushing wound {what a scene!!}. As darkness falls and sight is nil and temperatures drop, she realizes she's in a race against time - when high tide arrives in 12 hours, her little rock island will be under water & there will be absolutely nothing to prevent said shark from chomping her to bits {she's seen what it can do to other humans during the course of this film}. Everything culminates in a heart racing, if somewhat implausible {so was Jaws} battle of wits & strength with the Great White.
'The Shallows' pulls us in the minute Nancy grabs her surfboard & splashes into the ocean. You know, it's hard for any movie to follow a lone character for some 85 minutes. Recent examples include said 127 Hours (James Franco trapped by a collapsed boulder) & All is Lost (Robert Redford adrift at sea). This film follows their lead by getting into Nancy's psyche. For her, this situation is especially frustrating because she can actually see safety - but there's no one to help. She's also in immense pain, suffering from blood loss, dehydration, & doomed if she leaves her rock. The shark, itself, is just like Jaws - big, powerful, & relentless. Director Collet-Serra, keeps us engaged by continually ratcheting up the stress level. The approach of high tide represents a type of arm-gripping tension as we watch the clock countdown and Nancy's deadly isolation starts to take hold. At least he has someone/thing to talk to - in this case, her scene-stealing injured sea gull pal.
Blake Lively is probably in 80 of the film's 85 minutes gives a thoroughly compelling performance. Her Nancy is alone, hurt, trapped, scared, but still manages to stitch up her thigh, make a video (with a floating Go Pro), & try to overcome the shark. Lively has been good in other films (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, 2010's The Town, and especially last yr.'s surprisingly stellar The Age of Adeline. We'll see how she fares later this yr. in Woody Allen's Cafe Society), but none of those roles have required this degree of physicality, commitment, or emotional turmoil. The harrowing scene where Nancy must stitch her wound with jewelry, some cloth, and NO anesthetic is played to perfection. I'm very impressed by Lively as of late; sure she's beautiful, but she's ably carried 2 movies now on her shoulders.
Visually, 'The Shallows' is pretty cool, as well. The underwater shots are gorgeous. I liked the inventiveness of seeing cameras (Go Pro), cell phones (texting, picture scrolling), & watches (countdowns) utilized to give information, heft, & importance to whatever Nancy is going through in-the-moment. And while the CGI isn't perfect (some of the shark shots look fake in a fun Sharknado way), plenty of the images are spot-on, realistic, & made me leap from my seat. So yeah, 'The Shallows' offers some campy, gory, B-movie fun. The climactic battle of woman-vs.-nature is a bit much in the end; as rousing as it is ludicrous (perhaps the filmmakers didn't quite know how to wrap things up). But I enjoyed 'The Shallows' in a sort of ridiculous-yet-escapist-fun kind of way. And it'll give a new generation of beachgoers something to ponder when wading out in the sea this summer. Da-dummm.