Film review: Black Sea - edge-of-the-seat underwater thriller
English actor Jude Law affects an Aberdonian accent and glams down to play a grizzled seadog in Scotsman Kevin Macdonald's Black Sea. Much of the action in this underwater adventure thriller takes place in a rickety submarine that few sane people would be willing to spend any amount of time in.
Starring: Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Scoot McNairy, Grigoriy Dobrygin
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Category: IIB (English and Russian)
English actor Jude Law affects an Aberdonian accent and glams down to play a grizzled seadog in Scotsman Kevin Macdonald's . Much of the action in this underwater adventure thriller takes place in a rickety submarine that few sane people would be willing to spend any amount of time in.
After hearing about the existence of a Nazi U-boat loaded with two tonnes of gold sitting on the seabed in Georgian waters, Captain Robinson (Law, pictured) sees an opportunity to enrich himself — and also get back at both the marine salvage company that has recently let him go and a callous society that has made it difficult for an honest, hard-working man to make a decent living.
With a half-British, half-Russian 12-man crew, he sets off to find the treasure at the bottom of the Black Sea. But the portents are not good even early on: one potential partner has committed suicide, and his financier's weaselly representative (Scoot McNairy) has been sent along for the ride, bringing the total complement in the submarine to an unlucky 13. Then there are the problems that are of Robinson's own making, including the decision to include serial troublemaker Fraser (Ben Mendelsohn) in the venture.
Much of the trouble that occurs in will be predictable enough to those who have seen their share of films set aboard marine vessels.
But the sober and gritty tone of this offering from Oscar-winning documentary maker-turned-film director Macdonald helps keep proceedings grounded and maintains the tension enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.
