Review: Black Sea

Films set on a submarine come few and far between. But there are enough films within this subgenre to recommend.
From the star studded The Hunt For Red October and Crimson Tide, to one of the best foreign language films of all time, Das Boot.

We now have a British made thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald. The Scotsman is mainly known for directing documentaries that include the terrific Touching The Void. However, he has moments of doing feature films where his biggest achievement came from the Oscar-winning The Last King Of Scotland.

What I got from it was a feeling of a tense modern pirate thriller that definitely makes sure the viewer feels the claustrophobic nature of a submarine.
The opening third really gets you into all the characters well and that sets us up nicely for the rest of the film. You can therefore care for them and so the only thing missing is to see how thrilling it can get.
For the rest of the film, there are very tense moments that include one terrific set-piece that is probably the film's golden moment. As we geared up for the final moments, the tension had got me fidgeting in my seat and by the time the credits rolled I felt thoroughly satisfied of how everything ended.

Big positives are the character development, its striking visuals, levels of tension and several performances.
There was a whole bunch of characters you could get involved with. Whether their intentions are good or bad, you can easily not get mixed up with any member of the submarine crew.
Macdonald made great use of the claustrophobic nature of submarine life. However, his most defining moment in the film takes place outside of the sub which felt quite haunting.
All the performances all felt solid at least and some were above average. However, I really liked Jude Law's performance. Playing a man from Aberdeen meant a verdict on how his accent is. I felt it was consistent and pretty good. It felt genuine and really gave his character enough presence to be engrossing viewing.
One positive that I do not feel will get enough recognition will be the soundtrack. It's old fashioned nature gave the film a real buzz and was an essential asset.

For the negatives, I felt the script felt a bit basic which was a shame as I felt it could have really made the tension over-flow. This did not mean it was bad, I just felt that there this was a missed opportunity on giving the film the depth it deserved to have.

So despite the lack of depth and occasional low-key feel to it, I felt fairly satisfied with this. You can see the director made the most of the life in a sub to make it an immersive experience.
Some people may think that Macdonald's interests in the inside of the sub may have distracted him from giving the film depth, but I think there is more than enough to like and make you feel tense at the right moments.

Rating: 7/10