THE SHALLOWS
Jaume Collet-Serra (2016)
3 STARS
This aquatic adventure tracks a particularly vindictive shark as it holds a woman, Blake Lively, captive. An effective performance from Lively evokes genuine pathos, which is fortunate as little else is offered in the way of character development and relationship exploration.
A checklist of tropes begins as an irresponsible friend and a mundane back story let us know that Nancy (Lively) has medical training and will be on her lonesome through the film. Voyeuristically gratuitous shots of Lively’s ‘surfer-bod’ cheapen the otherwise interesting use of camera and cinematography.
Tone is managed well as constant tension building, including well constructed jump scares, elicit a sense of foreboding. Comic relief is even offered in the form of a grounded seagull. However, the comedic high point, the ill-fated bird snacking on vomit, shows the true lack of levity.
With a smorgasbord of shark films out there, The Shallows deserves plaudits for finding a fresh way to conclude and, all things considered, it is probably one of the better ones. However, compared to the monsters of the sub-genre, it doesn’t make a splash. There’s no real pull to watch, unless, like me, shark films really whet your appetite.