Very disappointed :(

An Exercise In Nonsense

Admirable film.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

On the outside this film is just fine. It has an okay plot, albeit very predictable and unoriginal. However it lacks the excitement, shocking moments, tension and claustrophobic atmosphere of similar films, such as Misery.The film is very boring. It does not have enough twists and moments of excitement to merit being a feature length film. The film also lacks energy and actually feels very tiring to watch. It also lacks atmosphere. Altough the entire film has a feeling of tension, largely due to its score, it does not have enough moments of sudden action to really engrose the viewer. The characters are poorly presented and lack any sort of motivation. The relationship between Nicole Kidman as nd hi sd husbdnd is not given enough time at the start and as a result the viewer never really cares asbout what happens at the end. The villain isnt introduced properly either and he does not seem to have any clear motivation.The actors are lazy and unconvincing. None of them are in any well memorable. All in all, this film is a terrific bore. Do not watch.

When I started watching this film, I did not expect to be swept away by this dark, moody, tense, original und unforgettable portrait of a hellish sea trip. My original interest in the film was ignited only because of Nicole Kidman's presence in one of her first starring roles, back when most of her films were still Australian indies. "Dead Calm" manages to create a beautiful atmosphere, and Sam Neill, Billy Zane and especially Nicole Kidman were born for these roles: all of them have taken on great parts other than their roles in "Dead Calm", but this needs to be counted among some of all their best performances. The movie may lose depth as it is heading closer towards its climax, and the ending does feel way too rushed and could have used some more creative writing, but that does not make "Dead Calm" any less exciting and breathtaking: I was thrilled from beginning to end, and the stunning cinematography as well as the incredible score only further contributed to my perception of this fantastic, underrated thriller.

Despite its age, I still see DEAD CALM as a pretty definitive seafaring thriller. To be more precise, it's a psychological thriller, one of many that were all the rage back in the late '80s and early '90s: FATAL ATTRACTION kick-started the sub genre, and there were many interesting choices along the way. For me, the two pinnacles of the genre are this film and THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE.The plot is deceptively simple, making use of just three actors. There's a loving couple, traumatised by events of the recent past, and a mysterious stranger hiding dark secrets. What follows is a hold-your-breath tense thrill-ride packed with twists and life-or-death situations. I loved the eerily isolated backdrop and director Phillip Noyce – who's made a career of edgy, dark filmmaking – makes perfect use of a small yacht to imprison his lead characters. The acting is also fine, which is a plus as if it hadn't been this film would have lost a lot of its charisma. Sam Neill is the sterling, never-give-up hero, and Billy Zane excels as the genuinely frightening psychopath, always retaining a hint of sympathy about him. But the film belongs to Nicole Kidman, who stars as the grieving woman forced to become a warrior to save both her husband's life and her own.Although I'm not a big fan of Kidman, I believe this to be one of her best performances, and it's hard to fault. She's fragile and gutsy, weak and powerful, all in the same breath, and watching her cat-and-mouse antics with Zane is what suspenseful filmmaking is all about. DEAD CALM is a classic thriller thanks to its pure simplicity.

I saw "Dead Calm" on video when it was first released, I remembered I liked it, but the only think I actually remembered was Billy Zane was the bad guy and Nicole Kidman got her bum out during a sex scene (and I liked her pert bum a lot) so when I saw it was starting on TV I decided to revisit it.Plot In A Paragraph: John Ingram (Sam Neil) and his wife Rae (Nicole Kidman) who's recovering from a car accident, are on their sailboat somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Their tranquil and blissful environment is changed when they rescue Hughie (Billy Zane) the lone survivor of a sinking ship they spot one morning. This is still an entertaining if slightly predictable movie, but I can not help but wonder what happened to the career of Sam Neil (who met his wife, Noriko Watanabe, in the making of this film) as he is a very talented actor with a great every man quality to him. He would go on to great success with "Jurassic Park" and "Event Horizon" both of which I love, before almost disappearing from mainstream movies. Last time I seen him he had a small role in "Escape Plan" opposite Sly Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He deserves better. Oh and I still really liked the pert bum of Nicole Kidman.