THE SHALLOWS

THE SHALLOWS

THE SHALLOWS - 7.5/10 - B

I enjoyed this film. What made this film work for me whereas films of similar nature usually don't is that the film still provided a decent amount of monologue despite being a solo-actor performance for the majority of the film. 

Having always enjoyed father Ernie Lively throughout the years, I was excited to see Blake, and she delivered. I wouldn't call it an academyaward winning performance but it was very solid.

I'll admit I had to throw away years of National Geographic and documentaries I have seen on sharks, but once I did that, the battle between beast and woman was quite enjoyable.

The ending in itself was quite epic. Not on the same level as "Smile you Son of a bitch" from JAWS but still epic in its own right.

Complaints are as follows....

I can see why successful writers talk about the importance of pacing and why it's easier seen than it is explained. The film's pacing seemed to either be on fast forward or on slow motion throughout the entirety.

I also felt that the fight itself, being the focus of the story, both externally with the shark and internally with her struggle to find purpose after her mother's death, didn't get enough attention. The buildup to the fight and the aftermath, both received too much. It felt more like a early second period fall, than it did a full 7 minutes into a third round tiebreaker all out slobberknocker that I was hoping to see.