Finally got around to renting Open Water...

[Tao of the Dive]

I finally got around to renting open water, so I figure I’ll write out my thoughts as I watch it. It goes without saying, if you want spoilers, read this, if you want to watch the film, untainted by my opinion, read no further…I tend to taint. LoL

***SPOILER ALERT***

• So far, it looks like each scene was improvised, just the way the couple interacted and the things they talked about. The script must have been written as they filmed if it wasn’t improvised.
• Filming looks like it was done by a SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design Freshman, with a Sony handy-cam, with the jitter control feature turned off. They go from an obvious tripod shot, to a jittery shot, obviously zoomed in from a distant location for no apparent reason. I mean, it’s a juvenile effort at best. Most scenes/ shots, it felt like they were going for artsy, but hadn’t been taught what an artsy shot would be, so they guessed. It seemed their expertise with cameras was geared more towards underwater (except for a few snafus camera placement wise)
• Gratuitous boob shot in bedroom scene. I mean come on, that didn’t even feel real. Felt forced and contrived at best.
• The total lack of dialogue in some spots made it agonizing to watch. Some directors can pull this off, such as the case with Castaway, but the technical know how was severely lacking in regard to this venture. Some of these spots could have been interspersed with family members trying to get hold of them, and being unsuccessful, email going unread, and people taking notice, somebody finding the property left on the boat, or somebody at least realizing they had missing tanks, weights what ever else they may have used that belonged to the boat. While these could have also played into the plot line, they would have also broken up the monotonous ‘hours at sea’ feeling.
• The repeated dramatic buildup of the music got monotonous after a while as well. It seems they wanted to increase dramatic effect by simply bring the music to crescendo for a scene transition. While it may work once or twice, after a while, it gets boring and tedious.
• ***SPOILER ALERT*** In the scene where she casts her husbands body off to be eaten by the sharks… I’m sorry, but if she truly cared about her husband, we’d expect the usual modern day wife to at least be somewhat distressed that sharks are eating the remains of her once beloved.
• Then there’s the dramatic scene where they start searching for the missing couple. This could have been an expanded set of scenes in that they could have shown more o the search, and even focused on an element o the search, and we could listen in as they cancel the search or something.

What it all boils down to is, do not waste your time watching it, money renting it, or time thinking about it. Overall, it’s not worth anything, save making me go out and buy some safety equipment. Because if there’s a positive part of that movie, it belongs to the safety equipment sales division of Leisurepro.

 

[dlndavid]

Thanks for the review. I won't waste my time or money. But already got the safety sausage (from LP, before their add).

 

[m7scuba]

My wife wanted to rent this last Friday. We did an watched it. She didn't like it. Especially since I was just starting to take the OW class/pool the next day

 

[slingshot]

I'm no movie critic, but I've got to agree with Tao. Poorly filmed, forced dialog, and they chummed for the sharks in order to film them at the surface. Filmed with equipment you can buy at your local Circuit City, spliced on a computer at home, and gosh darn it, it showed.

 

[SmokingMirror]

Filmed with equipment you can buy at your local Circuit City, spliced on a computer at home, and gosh darn it, it showed.

Indeed, and yet, much like the asinine Blair Witch, it took over $20m in the box office. I wonder which is the more disturbing here; the film's transparant lack of quality in just about every aspect, or the fact that very evidently a large percentage of the cinema-going public actually thought this worth seeing.

 

[TCDiver1]

Overall, it’s not worth anything, save making me go out and buy some safety equipment. Because if there’s a positive part of that movie, it belongs to the safety equipment sales division of Leisurepro.

And improvement of some dive boat operators', diver tracking systems.

 

[Walter]

Gratuitous boob shot in bedroom scene. I mean come on, that didn’t even feel real. Felt forced and contrived at best.

Actually, it was the only redeeming feature of the movie.

 

[Geezer]

I'll second that!

 

[cdiver2]

The one thing I have noticed with this movie is the fact that it has made divers more aware and safety conscious. Quiet a few people on the board have said they are going to get a sausage. For this alone I would recommend others to see it even if it only raises there awareness.
Boob shot.... if you have seen one you have seen them all.

 

[Walter]

You haven't seen many. They come in endless variety.