Review of Knife in the Water (1962) by Andrew B — 18 Aug 2010

While this is a good movie, I was wanting, and expecting, it to be great. It is good, but it seems a little random and under developed. I appreciate subtlety, and there is a lot of unspoken tension that's going on, but I kind of wished there was some more visceral action, and a little better payoff.

But, it's like Orson Welles said, "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations". Polanksi was restricted by budget (and other things I would guess), so he and the crew had to make the best with what that had, and, even though it underwheled me, they basically succed where it counts, taking a minimalist situation and trying to get as much out of it as possible.

From a technical perspective, I'm amazed at how they made this movie given the size of the boat. I liked the setting though, and that's part of why this film works. Cramped spaces are good at producing tension, claustrophobia, and atmosphere. For things to work though, you have to either have good writing, and or some good perforances to carry the picture, otherwise you'll get a boring failure.

Thankfully the performances are good, and the players are good looking and photograph well. Well, Malanowicz is a little weird looking, but it suits his character's odd and mysterious nature. The camera work is pretty great given the circumstances, and the scenery is lovely, too.

I want to give this 4.5, and made the mistake ahead of time of expecting too much, so I'll give it a 4, but in letter grade terms, let's say very high B+ to close but not quite an A-. I appreciate the effort, and I'm generally kind and forgiving, so I think that's fair, even if I'm left a bit disappointed.