Movie Review
Siddharth Martis
3.5 / 5
The Shallows is a movie directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and is written by Anthony Jaswinski. It stars Blake Lively.
Through The Shallows, director, Jaume Collet-Serra, demonstrates that he has progressed a long way since the abysmal House of Wax. His use of complex camera angles mixed in with well-placed seamless slow motion is unparalleled, thus creating a sense of dread as relentless as the shark that’s causing it. He also utilizes cinematographer Flavio Martínez Labiano’s bright and animated color palette to perfectly contrast the dark and intensely dire situation.
The path to this dire situation is pretty long and arduous to get to, as writer, Anthony Jaswinski, does craft a few filler scenes in preparation for the showdown between Lively and the shark, that often seem to weigh down the otherwise limber film. Jaswinski also uses dramatic irony as a source of black comedy, which works in various degrees but is far from the movies largest asset.
The Shallows’ largest asset without a doubt is Blake Lively. Lively truly shows off her range as she showcases herself as a masterful acrobat more than comfortable performing a trapeze act of complex and deeply affecting emotion. Most comparable to James Franco in 127 Hours or her husband, Ryan Reynolds in Buried, Lively earns the audience’s attention, sympathy, and admiration, in her best performance to date.
Still reeling from the loss of her mother, medical student Nancy Adams (Blake Lively) travels to a secluded beach for some much-needed sun and solace. Knowing the dangers of surfing alone, Nancy decides to hit the water to find much-needed peace. Suddenly, a great white shark attacks, forcing her to swim to a giant rock. Now, stranded 200 yards from shore, the traumatized young woman must fight for her life as the deadly predator circles her.The Shallows is quite possibly the most unfortunate movie to ever come out as it falls into horror subgenre of shark attack has only had one other excellent entry, Jaws. Though The Shallows is far, far away from Jaws and can’t help but be compared, it holds its own rather well against the Spielberg masterpiece, delivering consistent visceral white-knuckled thrills through meticulous camerawork and a powerhouse performance by Blake Lively.
Through The Shallows, director, Jaume Collet-Serra, demonstrates that he has progressed a long way since the abysmal House of Wax. His use of complex camera angles mixed in with well-placed seamless slow motion is unparalleled, thus creating a sense of dread as relentless as the shark that’s causing it. He also utilizes cinematographer Flavio Martínez Labiano’s bright and animated color palette to perfectly contrast the dark and intensely dire situation.
The path to this dire situation is pretty long and arduous to get to, as writer, Anthony Jaswinski, does craft a few filler scenes in preparation for the showdown between Lively and the shark, that often seem to weigh down the otherwise limber film. Jaswinski also uses dramatic irony as a source of black comedy, which works in various degrees but is far from the movies largest asset.
The Shallows’ largest asset without a doubt is Blake Lively. Lively truly shows off her range as she showcases herself as a masterful acrobat more than comfortable performing a trapeze act of complex and deeply affecting emotion. Most comparable to James Franco in 127 Hours or her husband, Ryan Reynolds in Buried, Lively earns the audience’s attention, sympathy, and admiration, in her best performance to date.