Review of The Shallows (2016) by Leah A — 27 Oct 2016

I think that the movie wasn't bad but I don't think it was well thought out. The title fits the movie The Shallows, the director Jaume Collet-Serra could have done better but the actress Blake Lively was not bad. I think that the director didn't display the movie as well as he could have. For example I think that it was a very awkward addition to add the bird into the movie and the scene of Nancy and the bird talking created a weird feeling for the viewer. The movie could have done well without the bird in the movie at all, since I don't see the purpose in having it there.

The plot of the film; a girl goes on a self trip to Mexico in hopes to relax and enjoy her hobby, surfing, but ends up stranded in a dangerous attack with a shark.

The main character played her part well. I think that she really set her part with the grunts of pain and video diaries. Those created a mood of eeriness and sadness to the audience. It was hard to tell if she was a good actress or not because there was not a lot of dialogue but instead silence, music, waves, and grunts, but I think she displayed her part well and fit the part as the main character. Generally, she was the only main character since she was stranded alone with no friend or stranger with her.

I think some important shots were the aerial shots, close ups, and some underexposed lighting shots. The movie included aerial shots of the ocean and I think that was important because it created the image of depth in the ocean and how big it is. The close ups of Nancy's eyes made a more actor-to-audience connection and showed her mood and facial expression better. The underexposed shots when nighttime was present created a dark, eerie feel for the audience because it portrayed the fact that since you can't completely see what's going on, the actress can not either.

I think the music really set the tone for the whole movie. The eerie, creepy music played while Nancy was alone set the scene for everybody. Even in the scenes that weren't as important as the action scenes had music that completed the movie. The music plays a huge role in setting the tone and I think it was one of the best parts about the whole film. One of the techniques I think really completed the whole movie was the muffling of music and sound when the camera would go underwater. It created a more real effect for the audience since the camera movement and audio were in sync with each other.

Overall I think that the movie was good. It was not an excellent movie but the techniques used in the filmmaking were excellent and depicted the plot well. If you want to see a gut twisting movie that leaves you on the edge, dive in and watch The Shallows.