Review of The Shallows (2016) by Reuben M — 05 Nov 2018

Let's not kid ourselves, Blake Lively is not a great actress. She will NEVER be a great actress. But if you need a young, blonde, all-American, physically fit actress, Blake Lively will fit the bill. She exudes health and vitality. It's easy to believe that she would be up to tough physical tasks. She's friendly and expressive.

So she has found perhaps the perfect role for her talents with the gripping THE SHALLOWS. She's called upon to play an American surfer who has come to an obscure beach in Mexico do enjoy the very waters her mother remembered so fondly. She chats amiably with her driver, then arrives at beach. She is filmed somewhat lingeringly getting changed into her surfing gear, and then she has some fun with a couple of local surfers. The scenery is gorgeous. The people are gorgeous. It's all wonderfully tranquil. Until, suddenly, it isn't. Lively, late in the day and now all alone, is attacked by a huge shark. The movie is now one of survival, man-against-nature.

The film clocks in at a crisp 87 minutes. It tells just enough story, for the most part, and nothing more. Lively's adventures, while certainly quite unlikely, have just enough credibility to draw the viewer in. There are brief moments of humor (the film features a wonderful seagull!), and plenty of moments of terror. If the ending is a bit of stretch (and the coda that follows it a bit ham-fisted), my feeling upon leaving the theater was of having been well and professionally entertained. It's not quite a horror film, nor is it an existential crisis film (like ALL IS LOST, Robert Redford's excellent film). It follows a competent, determined but fearful character that we like as she tries to figure out a way past her deadly dilemma.

There are a few flaws, of course. These vary from unavoidable (a few of the CGI effects are not great, no doubt due to the film's tiny budget) to unneeded (sorry, but I just don't buy Lively as doctor-in-training...and the script didn't have to make her one). A few times the shark perhaps acts with more intelligence than it should (despite what JAWS: THE REVENGE suggested 30 years ago...sharks don't carry grudges). And the ending feels a bit tacked-on and unneeded. We've spent nearly the entire film alone with Lively. We should have been able to end it that way too.

But these are minor annoyances. If you want some heart-pounding fun, set in a gorgeous location (with some beautiful views from above) and prefer to get your frights without supernatural elements, THE SHALLOWS is highly recommended. This film came somewhat out of nowhere...but it is well worth discovering.