Every now and then I come across a formulaic genre pic worth recommending. Regardless of whether my enjoyment or enthusiasm can be traced back to impressive performances, gorgeous cinematography, or a sharp screenplay, I tend to overlook clichés and forgive convention if a film is strong enough to make me forget I'm watching something I've essentially watched a hundred times before. Dead Calm is just such a flick. After a surreal, disorienting opening sequence -- one whose tone I wish director Philip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) had preserved throughout his production -- the film never drifts far from its beaten genre path, serving up an emotionally scarred couple, a sweaty-toothed madman, a scenario that pits both protagonists against unspeakable terrors, and offers each one an opportunity to heal old wounds. However, its leads are so compelling, its villain so unnerving, and its scenes so ripe with palpable tension that I can't help but give it a nod.
The eyes of a woman who has little left to lose...
Dead Calm's story is as simple as they come. After losing their child in a tragic car accident, married couple Rae (Nicole Kidman) and John Ingram (Sam Neill) decide to spend time sailing the Pacific in an effort to cope with their grief. It's a somber vacation, to be sure, but one that allows the dutiful husband an opportunity to help his wife work through her feelings of guilt. Their trip shows promise... until the Ingrams rescue a strange man named Hughie (Billy Zane) who claims his shipmates died of food poisoning. John is immediately suspicious and, the moment Hughie falls asleep, sneaks aboard the survivor's boat to find out what actually happened to its crew. Unfortunately for the Ingrams, Hughie wakes up, commandeers their boat, takes Rae prisoner, and sails off into the sunset. As Rae attempts to appeal to her captor and retake her vessel, John has to find a way to survive aboard Hughie's sinking ship. But can Rae trick a madman into giving her the upper hand? Will John find a way to reunite with his wife? And just how much of themselves are they willing to sacrifice to stay alive?
Yes, a more elemental actor would have made a more memorable impression as Hughie -- Zane is a suitable psychopath, but hardly a reservoir of subtlety or surprise -- and no, writer Terry Hayes' adaptation of Charles Williams' 1963 novel doesn't fully explore the reasons Rae transforms from grieving mother to domineering heroine, but Kidman and Neill's performances are so hypnotic that it hardly matters. Kidman runs a staggering gamut of emotions, everything from agony to terror to heartache to rage, and does so with the nuanced control and measured confidence of the actress she's proven herself to be in the twenty years since. Her tears are all too real, her shifting expressions all too disquieting, her manipulation of Hughie as gut-wrenching as it is effective. Neill charts an entirely different course, but it's no less powerful. Like Kidman, he pulls his character's strength from within, relying on a cool head and a calm demeanor as readily as experience and ingenuity. His portrayal of John as both loyal husband and unwavering fighter lends meat to the Ingrams' relationship, weaving their separate struggles into a single, cohesive conflict. Dead Calm's contrived wait there's more! ending is as inane as it is predictable, but the director infuses every wide-eyed closeup and disquieting encounter with enough dread and unease to propel the tale through such conventional beats.
Very little dates the production either. Desensitized modern sensibilities aside, Dead Calm is just as distressing today as I imagine it was in 1989; Kidman's survival tactics alone make it as much a psychological thriller as a physical one. Moreover, its production values are unyielding (so long as you're able to look past the rather obvious appearance of a dummy in place of a dying child), its dialogue could have been written yesterday, and the simplicity of its structure and story eliminates the need for cultural context or era specificity. Grief is grief, no matter the decade. Fear is fear, regardless of available technology. Perseverance is perseverance, no matter the circumstance. The same goes for sacrifice, the will to live, heartbreak, guilt, and every other emotion and hurdle that frequents the film. Had Noyce taken the opportunity to strip Hayes' screenplay of a few wayward flaws -- among them the fact that no husband in their right mind would leave their wife, alone no less, on board a ship with someone they suspect of deception, regardless of how securely said suspect was contained -- we might be discussing a genre classic. As it stands though, Dead Calm is an intriguing but imperfect late '80s thriller that deserves recognition, not outright praise.
Prepare yourself for a more frightening sight than Billy Zane leering through an open hatch: the first ten minutes of Dead Calm's 1080p/VC-1 transfer. The image is simply awful. Uneven grain, surging noise, digital artifacts, murky colors, sickly skintones, detail-sapping shadows, telecine wobble... you name it, it probably haunts the film's opening scenes. Thankfully, once Kidman and Neill reach the open sea, the presentation improves dramatically and stays strong for the duration. The palette springs to life, offering vibrant spatters of blood, striking blue expanses, and absorbing blacks where there once were none. Contrast is bright and healthy, delineation is revealing, and depth and dimensionality are convincing (particularly for a twenty-year old catalog title). Whites are occasionally a bit hot and faces sometimes flush above deck, but the majority of scenes boast a natural appearance. Likewise, edge enhancement is a persistent issue and textures are prickly at times, but detail remains quite satisfying. Granted, overall clarity is hindered by errant noise and several soft shots, but the Blu-ray edition nevertheless represents a substantial upgrade over previous releases. It isn't perfect, it isn't impervious to criticism, and it isn't consistent. However, I doubt Warner could do much more to improve matters without tackling each frame of the film and giving Dead Calm the sort of high-dollar high definition overhaul reserved for the studio's fan-favorites and critically acclaimed award-winners.
Warner offers Dead Calmers a basic but capable Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mix that offers a decent sonic experience, but ultimately fails to overcome its inherent limitations. Dialogue is crisp, clean, and well-prioritized (despite a few muddled lines attributable to the film's original audio elements), and the remaining soundscape is commendable, if not underwhelming. I would have enjoyed listening to the raging ocean engulf my home theater; to hear Zane scamper across the deck above Kidman's head; to quiver as Neill scrambled to escape a sinking ship. Dead Calm strikes me as a natural candidate for an involving 5.1 remix, but I suppose it wasn't meant to be. Ah well. At least Warner delivers the film's stereo mix via a lossless track. While proper LFE support and engrossing rear speaker activity would take the film to new high definition heights, fans will be fairly pleased with the results.
A competent thriller, Dead Calm delivers fine performances and a solid, albeit conventional genre tale. Though it seems relatively tame some twenty years after its debut, it's still quite unsettling, particularly as Kidman's character begins to assert herself and turn a madman's madness to her advantage. Alas, its Blu-ray release is a mixed bag. Warner's video transfer gets stronger as the film plows along, but its lossless stereo track is a bit of a letdown and its lack of supplements is a disappointment. Even so, Noyce's thriller has never looked better. At such a low price point, it's tough to complain too much.
Warner Home Video has announced ten titles from its catalog for Blu-ray release
on September 8: 'Catwoman', 'Creepshow', 'Dead Calm', 'Freddy vs. Jason', 'The
New World: Extended Cut', 'Over the Top', 'The Postman', 'Snakes on a Plane',
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