Sometimes what makes a fascinating and inspiring true story, does not automatically make a great film, and Baltasar Kormákur’s The Deep is an example of such a feature. Although a somewhat unimaginable series of events inspired this picture, what ensues is a relatively tedious and inconsequential piece of cinema, as a film that may have benefited from simply being a documentary.
Set in a small Icelandic fishing town in 1984, we enter into the lives of a group of fisherman embarking on a trip out into the ocean, a trip that although customary and habitual, takes a turn for the worse when the boat capsizes far out at sea, leaving the workers with a very slim chance of survival. However when Gulli (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson), seemingly the only one to make it out alive, attempts to swim through the freezing cold conditions back to land, it would take a miracle of science for the rather hefty fisherman to make it back safely.
Although the opening act is pensively and emotionally built up, while the accident on the ship is brilliantly well handled, the second half of this title is no match at all to what came before, with an immensely anticlimactic finale, as the story drags on aimlessly. In hindsight, Kormákur could have prolonged the opening half for all it’s worth, as although intense, the most affecting and absorbing section to this title is Gulli’s battle for survival, which feels rushed somewhat. There is certainly an argument to be had for the extension and prolonging of the gruelling and more impactful scenes, to make them even more effective than they already are.
Given the nature of The Deep, we are reliant on a strong leading performance from Darri Ólafsson to help carry this film, and although the performance itself is perfectly acceptable, unfortunately the character has been severely underwritten. Gulli’s distinct lack of personality proves a downfall, which is mostly a fault of the screenwriters Kormákur and Jón Atli Jónasson than the actor himself. As such it’s difficult to have much of an emotional attachment to the character as we know so little about him, with so little back story provided to the viewer.
Having said that, the way each character aboard the ship is presented individually is effective, as no one character takes precedence, allowing for us to see them as one unit, and thus care more greatly for the departed. Meanwhile the theme of isolation is dealt with expertly, with an array of well crafted panning shots, where we slowly zoom out from Gulli at sea, showing off just how vast a landscape there is around him, enhancing the loneliness of the situation and just how difficult a task it would be to arrive home safely.
Ultimately very little comes of The Deep, and the audience is left wanting, as we wait patiently for a revelation of some sort, or impactful finale, which never truly arrives. After Kormákur’s Hollywood endeavour last year with the exciting thriller Contraband, another well-made picture had been anticipated of the Icelander, and yet this is not quite the successful return to his native country that we had envisaged. Perhaps a move back to LA in the near future would be a good idea.
[Rating:2/5]
