SUSANNE PEREZ
It's been 29 years since "Jaws" first made us nervous about swimming
with sharks. Now, with the release of the well-crafted, intense "Open
Water," you may not want to splash in anything other than a bathtub.
This story is based on an actual incident of a few years back,
when divers went missing off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
On the screen, workaholics Susan and Daniel (Blanchard Ryan and
Daniel Travis) pack up the laptops and cellphones for a last-minute
vacation in the Caribbean. A young, attractive couple, they seem too
self-absorbed to notice their separate needs.
When they're out on a scuba-diving excursion with a group of other
divers, the two resurface and are stunned to realize their boat is
nowhere in sight. Surely they will be rescued soon, they reason, but
they cannot get their bearings and drift further and further out to
sea. Meanwhile, the boat's crew members and other passengers are
unaware the couple are missing.
As experienced this past weekend by those in the path of Hurricane
Charley, we are still at the mercy of nature, in spite of all our
technology, and we are quite insignificant in the big scheme of
things.
"I wanted to go skiing!" sobs Susan, as they try to adjust to the
reality of having no control over their fates.
The hours pass interminably, and Susan and Daniel run the gamut of
emotions -- anger, hope, resentment, fear and love.
Unlike "Jaws," "Open Water" is low-key, and the dialogue is as
convincing as those sharks. The hand-held digital cameras (by
writer/director Chris Kentis and producer Laura Lau) and sound
effects add to the documentary feel -- you can almost taste the salt
water.
The ending was a real stunner, too. The audience sat still for
nearly a minute before gulping for air and heading for home.
* SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant
for a financial services company.
Homecoming inspires
a new 'State' for Braff
Drowning in the abyss of silence, loss and deprivation of soul is
a man who has forgotten what it means to live. Welcome to the "Garden
State."
Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff, who also directed) moved to Los
Angeles to become an actor, leaving his East Coast family and friends
with no reminder of his past. Medicated with lithium, he never fully
grasps any meaning of life.
After not returning home for nine years, Andrew is summoned by his
father for reasons that alter his world indefinitely. His mother, a
fragile woman paralyzed from the waist down, has drowned in the
bathtub.
