The Surface Review

The Surface Review

If Cast Away and All is Lost had a laconic baby, it would look a lot like Gil Cates Jr.'s micro-budget survival drama, The Surface. Whether or not this is good news will depend on your tolerance for glacially paced dialogue scenes and non-existent production values. Make no mistake; this is a film where even the setting moves faster than the runtime. It's a true two-hander between Lord of Rings alumnus Sean Astin, as suicidal widower Mitch, and Chris Mulkey's Kelly, at first a voice of reason, whose past mistakes gradually reveal him to be just as tortured and complex as his more extroverted counterpart. Mitch drives his boat to the heart of Lake Michigan, with grave intentions to escape his deep-seated hatred for what life has become, only to encounter Kelly as the lone survivor of a spectacular plane crash. What transpires is an 80-minute character piece, with each new line of suspicious questioning peeling back the character's stoic veneers to reveal a sorrowful gap in dire need of filling. Could they be exactly what the other needs to gain back their lust for life? I mean, what do you think? 

The film's occasionally tiresome runtime demands a strong screenplay and charismatic leads to carry its audience through large stretches of, if we're honest, nothing. Writer Jeff Gendelman has a keen eye for the alpha male posturing of the early scenes, although he and Cates struggle to maintain interest for the whole journey. Astin and Mulkey are more than capable of keeping the film bouyant (it's funny because they're on a boat). Without their nuanced, powerful and ultimately hopeful turns, the movie would have undoubtedly sank under the weight of its laborious pacing. Although it never meets the impact of other, more consequential, survival movies, the fine leads and an introspective screenplay make The Surface a sufficiently moving take on a tired formula.

Five-Word Verdict: I felt feelings. A lot.

Score: 3/5

The Surface is out on VOD, iTunes and DVD on Tuesday, 1st September