The Shallows
The Shallowsserves up plenty of thrills and scares, but it prioritizes taut storytelling over character building.
After her female parent dies of an illness , medical school student Nancy Adams ( Blake Lively ) direct a much - ask holiday to the beach of Mexico , where she hope to find public security by channel-surf on the waters . Even though her ally can not accompany her - leading to a serious situation of surfing alone - Nancy still take to the waves , befriend some of the local anesthetic and enjoying her metre outside . Despite the headache of her sis ( Sedona Legge ) and father ( Brett Cullen ) , Nancy intend to remain in Mexico for an undetermined amount of metre , losing her love for her life ’s goal following the expiration of her mom .
Towards the end of her first solar day surfing , Nancy learns that the sea is n’t the safe haven she consider it was , as she is attacked by a great white shark await to defend its feeding terra firma . Stranded 200 yards from shoring and seriously hurt , Nancy must fight for herself against the predator , while also looking for a way to call for avail and get back to the land .
Running at a tight 87 instant , The Shallowsknows exactly what it is and does n’t have any outstanding ambitions of being anything other than a modern - day survival B - movie . It is successful in that attentiveness , though director Jaume Collet - Serra ’s economical narration show to be a blessinganda curse . The Shallowsserves up plenty of thrills and scare , but it prioritizes taut storytelling over character construction . Because of this , it may not be as memorable for some as it could have been .
Collet - Serra , known for horror filmsHouse of WaxandOrphan , as well as a fistful of Liam Neeson action vehicles ( Unknown , Non - Stop , Run All Night ) , certainly has a solid grip on those face ofThe Shallows . Once the shark arrives , the film is a tense drive throughout , as the scourge of the heavy white looms bombastic over every scene . The film maker take an approach similar toJawsin derogate the shark ’s screen time to increase the suspense and threat . Images of its fin cleave out of the water or its full body obscured under the water give spectator on the border of their buns . When Collet - Serra opts to show his shark in full , the sequences are still very good ( despite some obvious CGI ) , as Nancy ’s close - one-fourth battles with the majuscule white are alarm to watch .
When a exclusive histrion has to do much of the heavy lifting in a picture show like this , it ’s always a challenge , and fortuitously Lively is up for the project . Her performance is more of the physical variety than spectacular , as she spends most of the film battling the shark , yell for service , and tending to her bloodied leg . Still , she is convincing in the role and betray audiences on the despair and perilousness of her situation . AsThe Shallowsmoves along , the interview develop attached to Nancy simply by living vicariously through her as she digs deeply for natural selection . It also does n’t hurt that Lively gets to spend the first moments of the movie flesh Nancy out a bit , let viewing audience to understand her excited state and motivation for traveling to Mexico .
That said , it would be a stretch to call Lively ’s Nancy one of the premiere horror motion-picture show heroines . The screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski crafts paper thin eccentric that are mostly fodder for the real star topology of the film ( the shark ) than well - rounded individuals . Even Nancy ’s frame-up is all too abbreviated and feels rush ( tell in the first place through speech sound word picture and FaceTime chats ) so the story can shift gears quickly to the swell white ’s attack . Again , this approach is apprize in the years of studio tentpoles that can be stretched over 2.5 hour at time , but Collet - Serra may have benefitted from dedicate a little more sentence developing the characters at the beginning . The supporting thespian are serviceable in their part , but the fact that they ’re all upstaged by a seagull ( undeniably this film ’s take onCast Away ’s Wilson ) is a prime illustration of the characters ( except Nancy ) being prop to showcase the terror of the shark .
Because of this , The Shallowsdoesn’t resonate as strongly as it might have for certain viewers . There is a nice substance at its heart and soul ( always keep fighting and never give up ) , making Nancy ’s ordeal an interesting metaphor for her life . Still , the themes are vague sketch that exist mainly to give motion-picture fan arguably trivial reasons to care about the protagonist . It ’s evident Nancy miss her female parent , butThe Shallowscould have been more effective if that dynamic was explored further ( beyond scroll through photos ) . This photographic film understands masses are here for the shark , but get the picture deeper past the aerofoil level relationships presented would n’t have hurt and may have made Nancy ’s arc in the film more comforting for the audience . Nancy ’s family fellow member are essentially glorified cameos that do n’t amount to much - even though the flick hints at a strong connection .
In the end , The Shallowsis a simple thriller that does n’t concern itself with inwardness as much as scenes of pure horror . Those who are hackneyed of the overblown handsome studio blockbusters that have been released this summer may findThe Shallowsas a decent palate cleanser ; a disrobe down film that cut to the chase and does n’t overstay its welcome . Yet , it ’s unvoiced to recommend it to everyone , since there are some viewers who will require more bang for their clam . Those up for barn - motion picture literary genre shudder at the theater should enjoyThe Shallows , but others can await for place media to check it out .
Trailer
The Shallowsis now diddle in U.S. theatre of operations . It runs 87 hour and is rated PG-13 for bloody look-alike , intense sequence of peril , and brief strong words .
The Shallows follows Nancy Adams , a young surfer who ’s attacked by a great white shark after getting stranded 200 yards from the shoring while surfing alone at a privy beach in Mexico . Blake Lively lead in the 2016 survival thriller , directed by Jaume Collet - Serra .
Blake Lively in The Shallows
