Director: Stephen Brown
Starring: Ciarán Hinds, Bonnie Wright, Natascha McElhone, Rufus Sewell, Charlotte Rampling, Sinéad Cusack
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 86 minutes
Special Features: Stills gallery and trailer
Ciarán Hinds stars in this gorgeous Irish film about a man who returns to the home of his summers as a child in an attempt to deal with the loss of his wife. As he walks the same steps he did as a boy, memories of one summer come flooding back and cause him to re-live a tragedy from his youth. As he goes in search of answers – and of peace – so does the viewer. So what was this childhood tragedy and why has he returned there?
Mysteries like THE SEA only work when they give the audience a small taste of what is to come, enough to keep you guessing but still keep you interested. There has to be some enjoyment in the journey as well as the outcome, otherwise viewers are likely to lose interest. Sadly THE SEA really is all beauty and no suspense. Most of the supposed hints are just far too elusive and make little sense. Characters are never really explored and the whole film feels like the surface is being skimmed. This might have worked for a while but it never delves any deeper and the end result lacks anything more than beauty – something the film does have in spades.
Cinematographer John Conroy does an absolutely stunning job at setting the scene for all the flashbacks which become so visceral you can almost walk through the screen and straight onto that sumptuous beach. It’s a shame then that, despite both Conroy’s work and the impressive cast, THE SEA never makes it beyond the beauty into anything more exciting, more intriguing.
[usr=2] THE SEA is released on DVD on 23rd June.
