Black Sea is a thriller that shows the heights of human heroism and the depths of human greed and evil schemes. There is a plot twist in the middle that will take your breath away. Basically, the film is about a group of men let go from their jobs who get wind of a treasure at sea, so are willing to man a submarine and go in search of it.
Robinson
(Law) is named the captain because of his experience and skill on submarines,
and he recruits his buddies to join him.
When something happens to one before they even set out, Robinson
recruits the 18 year-old Tobin (Schofield) who brought him the news. Because the sunken boat is
Russian-made, they need a few Russians to go with them. And finally, they have an unwilling
participant, Daniels (McNairy), who was sent by the man who is financing the
operation to look out for his interests.
One hopes for the best with this motley crew, especially since the
submarine they’ll be traveling in looks old and decrepit.
They
set off, but while they’re at sea a series of tragedies/comedies occur that put
them all in danger. First of all,
they start arguing about the booty even before they’ve laid eyes on it. Robinson has made it clear that they
will all share equally in the spoils—after giving the financier 40%--and one
would think that since none of them has much of anything and the treasure is
millions of dollars in gold bricks, that they would be satisfied. But no, human nature comes to the fore,
and some feel strongly that they deserve more. I anticipated that the class system like the one we saw in Snowpiercer might develop, but Robinson
stands his ground on equality.
Nevertheless, they continue to argue about it, along with other petty
and not so petty issues, and attempt to undermine the captain on the sly. Not only does their contentiousness put
the whole mission at risk, but they endanger themselves individually.
Because
their conflicts cause real damage to the boat at times, we never know whether
they’re going to make it or not, or even whether they will reach the treasure,
much less make it home. Dennis
Kelly has written a script that keeps you constantly guessing and on edge, and
the cinematographer (Christopher Ross) employs the camera as another character
slithering up and down through the boat and even bumping into things when there
is a disturbance, in following the action and composing artistic shots of the
actors and the sea. Kevin
Macdonald, the director of Touching the
Void, knows how to pace an agonizing thriller as well as show sometimes
very touching humanity (e.g., Marley)
and complex personalities (The Last King
of Scotland), all of which are apparent here.
Jude
Law shines as the star—as he usually does—and his character is one we can
admire for his leadership, his sense of responsibility, and his shrewd
deductions. Law is very talented
in many kinds of different roles, and he is entirely convincing in this
one. The supporting actors are all
very good as well.
There
are implausible moments in Black Sea,
but they are not serious enough to detract from the excitement and suspense.
They all live in a rusty submarine, but it’s an
exciting ride.
Grade: B By
Donna R. Copeland
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