Review of Dead Calm (1989) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013

Directed by Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games (1992), Sliver (1993) and Clear and Present Danger (1994)), produced by George Miller (Mad Max (1979)), adapted from the 1963 book of the same name by Charles Williams.

This is a tense, taut and minimalistic thriller from Australia, which manages to do a lot with a limited but claustrophobic setting, it's a great formula. Australian naval officer John Ingram (Sam Neill) and his wife Rae (Nicole Kidman) lose their son in a car accident, so they get away from it all by sailing in the Pacific on their boat.

Rae struggles to come to terms with what happened, but John is on hand to support her. After over 30 days at sea, they come across a sinking, drifting boat, and from the boat on a dinghy comes Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane) who tells them the boat is sinking and everyone on board is dead from food poisoning.

John goes to investigate, but soon discovers the real reason why everyone died, but Rae is alone on the boat with Hughie, who soon starts to show his true colours. It's a great thriller, almost the sort of story Hitchcock would have killed for, it's got some really tense and gripping moments, and Zane makes a perfect baddie.

The film was a minor success, yet it enabled director Noyce to go to Hollywood, and it helped make Kidman a star, granting her fame in Hollywood as well.