The Shallows (2016)
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
starring:
Blake Lively
Óscar Jaenada
Brett Cullen
It’s not Jaws, but that’s a good thing…
The natural tendency is to compare this film to Jaws. However, it’s not fair to compare the two films because they are completely different. They exist for two completely different reasons. They tell two different kinds of stories. Jaws is a big, multi-faceted story about a whole town and its welfare and its way of life. The Shallows is a small story about one young woman and a place she’s stuck at, in her life. It’s a very personal story. Oh yeah and there’s a shark.
After the passing of her mother, Nancy goes to a Caribbean island to find the secret beach where her mom surfed and where she found out she was pregnant with her first daughter. It’s a special place, symbolic, but also a beautiful paradise–a great place to not only surf, but to clear your head of clutter and feel free.
Nancy is befriended by two locals who give her the low down on surfing in the massive bay area. The cinematography is outstanding and the color is beautiful. You get a real sense of the beauty of the place and the serenity of its isolation. When the locals pack it in for the night, Nancy decides to catch one last wave. She’s attacked, bitten on her leg, but manages to escape her nemesis. She gets stranded on an island, nothing more than a large stone, that is only out of water during low tide. The large killer shark is patient and circles, waiting for high tide.
I thought it may be difficult for a film with basically only one character to keep my attention. However, the film was engrossing and full of excitement. Great pacing and imaginative storytelling, letting the viewer in on the backstory in a light-handed manner, make this film a winner. It lulls you into its peaceful serenity with its beautiful views and bright sparkling water, then it rips that comfort out from under you. It combines the right amounts of thrilling suspense, emotional content and gut twisting action. I may change my mind with future viewings, but upon my first watch I give it top rating.
An emotionally charged thriller shark movie worth a trip to the theater.
I give it 5 chomping razor-sharp teeth out of 5 on the killer carnivore vs virtuous vixen scale.
parlor of horror 
I loved this movie and as I said on another blog I feel that it’s the best man (or woman) vs shark movie since Jaws. Great review, Michael!
I feel the same way, and it is quite different than Jaws which I also like.
Great review! Definitely want to check this one out at some stage!
I don’t want to pump it up too much because its not one of those big summer action films, its a small intriguing film.
Love Lively and love sharks so this is a must for me. Great review.
Nice review Mike. This one is on my radar now. You know I am a sucker for shark flicks.
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Nice review, I may actually get off my ass and see this.
There’s not a whole lot of dialogue in the film but it manages to hold your interest and make you feel for the character.
I’ve noticed in the last few years, there has been many films that star in essence mainly one person in an adverse situation. Gravity only had two actors in it, and Sandra Bullock was on screen a lot of the time alone.
I liked Gravity quite a bit too. These films are like character studies and are a welcome difference from all the high-fx laden mega productions.
It’s good when you can really focus on a single character and watch them put against the odds.
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