Black Sea (2014)

Directed by: Kevin Macdonald
Country: UK / Russia / USA

Movie Review: Scottish film director, Kevin Macdonald, knows how to handle a thriller, gathering all the possible familiar aspects inherent to a submarine thriller. “Black Sea” was still capable to catch my attention by adding factors like greediness, frustration, xenophobia and perseverance to a risky underwater mission outlined with routine moments of tension and claustrophobia. Jude Law plays Robertson, an offended submarine captain who got fired from the salvage company he had been working so hard for eleven years. Disappointed and physically detached from his wife and 12 year-old son who were both doing fine without him, Robertson seemed condemned to drink in pubs with depressed friends in the same conditions as he was. However, when a financed operation to find a WWII German U-boat lying in the bottom of the sea, supposedly full of gold, is put in his hands, he didn’t hesitate to fully accept it. For that, he will have to gather a crew of twelve men, half British half Russian, since the old submarine to use is from Russian origin. A senseless American called Daniels, connected to the investor, is also joining them in the risky treasure hunt whose accidents, threats, crazy maneuvers and dives into the unknown, are just some occurrences to expect. A substantial part of the tension comes from the men who were divided by country. Apart from Robertson, there’s a particularly interesting character that stands out for his sly behavior and defiant posture; Frazer is his name, a mad diver, superbly performed by Ben Mendelsohn. The adventure grows pretty exciting in the last thirty minutes and the finale, if not totally unexpected, did have a good impact on me.