The Shallows
Film
Review
by Kam Williams
It's Surfer
vs. Shark in Harrowing Tale of Survival Offshore
Nancy Adams
(Blake Lively) was so shaken by her mother's (Janelle Bailey)
untimely death that she's dropped out of med school. In order to feel
closer to her dearly departed mom, she's decided to vacation at the
same exotic Mexican retreat where she was reportedly conceived back
in 1991. An avid surfer, she also plans to search for the stretch for
her mom's favorite beach.
Upon
arriving, Nancy is so impatient to find that idyllic, uncharted spot,
that she impulsively heads for the ocean with her surfboard, handbag
and smartphone, abandoning her bushed traveling companion at the
hotel. Instead, she accepts a ride to the shore from the very
obliging Carlos (Oscar Jaenada), an affable local yokel who is more
than happy to serve as the bikini-clad hitchhiker's chauffeur and
navigator.
He drives
away right after depositing her at the secluded cove, yet Nancy has
no qualms about being left alone, since she does have cell service.
Next thing you know, she's blissfully paddling out to deep water
where she's surrounded by a pod of playful dolphins as she starts
riding the mammoth waves.
The plot
thickens soon after she spots the bobbing carcass of a humpback
whale. What Nancy doesn't recognize until it's too late is that she's
inadvertently entered the feeding grounds of a still-hungry shark
who'd rather dine on human flesh than cetacean.
She
subsequently suffers a nasty gash from the initial attack but is
somehow able to swim to a tiny, low-lying island nearby. Her medical
training comes in handy as she quickly fashions a tourniquet from
part of her outfit.
Still, with
high tide coming in a matter of hours, she knows that she's got to
figure out how to survive once this temporary sanctuary sinks below
sea level. The shore is 200 yards away, which is way to far to swim
with a determined predator steadily circling as her blood drips into
the water.
A couple of
potential rescuers (Jose Manuel Trujillo Salas and Angelo Josue
Lozano Corzo) show up, but hope fades fast when the dopey duo simply
starts swimming without noticing the damsel-in-distress. The next
beachgoer (Diego Espejel) does see that Nancy's in need, but he
seizes the opportunity to steal her phone and other personal effects
left on the sand.
This means
spunky Nancy must survive by her wits, a daunting challenge given her
dire straits. Thus unfolds The Shallows, an engaging,
edge-of-the-seat thriller expertly directed by Jaume Collett-Serra
(Non-Stop) to ratchet up the tension.
The movie
borrows elements from Jaws (headstrong, maniacal shark), Castaway
(this stranded heroine bonds with a seagull instead of a volleyball),
Blue Crush (oodles of gratuitous titillation) and MacGyver (a
brilliant tinkerer exhibits endless ingenuity). The good news is that
it all has been sewn together quite seamlessly yielding a thoroughly
enjoyable screamfest reminding us that it's still not safe to swim in
the ocean.
Excellent (4
stars)
Rated PG-13 for bloody images,
intense scenes of peril and brief profanity
Running time: 87 minutes
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
To see a trailer for The Shallows,
visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgdxIlSuB70
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