BLACK SEA

UK, 2014, 114 minutes, Colour
Jude Law, Tobias Menzies, Jackie Whitaker, Scoot Mc Nairy, David Threlfall, Grigoriy Dobrygin, Ben Mendelsohn, Michael Smiley, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Bobby Schofield.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald.

While the Black Sea, especially out of Sebastopol, is the realistic location for this thriller, the title also means the dark depths of the sea. This is a submarine film.

Over the years there have been many fine dramas and thrillers, from 1950’s Morning Departure, with John Mills and a stiff upper lip British cast, to Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October as well is The Crimson Tide. There was also the fine German film, Das Boot. This film is not quite in the same class as these undersea thrillers but it will do as a piece of underwater entertainment.

Jude Law, who has been doing some excellent roles in recent years from his grim and quiet Karenin in the recent Anna Karenina to his boasting bluff Dom Hemingway. Here he looks strong and sturdy, shaven head, Scots accent, a man who has spent 30 years in submarines and working in salvage who is let go with a pittance by his company. His life has been l dedicated to the sea to the neglect of his wife and child who are glimpsed in a number of flashbacks. There doesn’t seem to be much else to do but drown his sorrows.

When he hears of an interesting operation, the salvage of a submarine with gold that Russia through Stalin had paid to Hitler at the beginning of World War II. This episode is visualised in surreal black and red colour during the opening credits. The captain goes to an interview, agrees to the task, collects his own crew from Britain and half the crew from Russia (played by actual Russian actors) and a quite psychotic diver from Australia, played by Ben Mendelsohn.

The film doesn’t waste much time in going into the depths and precipitating a crisis, killing and an explosion with more deaths. This does not enhance the credibility of the plot where the crew in an old Russian rust bucket submarine dive into the depths and locate the vessel. There are the usual anxieties, especially through Daniels, an executive imposed on the crew by the company (Scoot Mc Nairy in a constantly whining and whingeing performance or, rather, trying to do his best with whining and whingeing lines, irritating nonetheless).

With damage to the submarine because of the explosion, they have to find a different way to the surface, but there are also revelations of double dealing in the setup of the contract. The trek by the divers to the submarine and the discovery of corpses and of the gold, increases the motivation to succeed, despite the difficulties in transporting a piston and the gold to the submarine.

The captain decides to go to another port to surface and get away with the gold, some for everyone, but they come across a deep sea canyon which they decide to navigate.

There is quite some dissent, some violence and mayhem before a partly happy ending.

The film was directed by Kevin Macdonald, a prolific maker of documentaries, especially his Oscar-winning One Day in September about the Munich Olympics. He has also made a number of feature films including directing Forrest Whitaker to his Oscar in The Last King of Scotland. This means that his eye for effective detail makes the action in the submarine rather documentary-like. But he is quite melodramatic with the narrative fiction.

1. The title? Geographical reference? Historical reference as seen during the credits? Symbolic, in the depths of the water in the sea and the experience, life and death?

2. The UK sequences, Scotland, offices, pubs, school – all things normal?

3. Crimea, Sebastopol, the atmosphere, the wharf, the sea, the submarine?

4. The credits, the glimpses of World War II, Hitler and Stalin, the submarines, the gold? The explanation of the Nazi gold and receiving it from Russia? The sinking of the submarine? The discussions about the deal, who would profit from the salvage, the sharing? Hopes? On the map, location of the submarine? Crimea, Russian, Georgia and the authorities?

5. Submarine, old, the cost? Daniels and his being present at the discussions, persuading Robinson?

6. Robinson, Scottish, the discussions and his being fired, the small payout? His losing his wife and son, the glimpses in flashbacks, the photos, his happy life with them? The long experience with submarines, salvage? In the pub, his friend, getting information, the contact, the irony of the actor presiding at the meeting, the nature of the deal? Daniels and his being an intermediary?

7. The crew, their experience, those from Britain, those from Russia (actual Russian actors)? The variety of skills?

8. The detail of the running of the submarine, each person with skill, jobs, personalities or not? Language? Daniels and his being present as well?

9. The explosion, the cause, the effect, the deaths, Robinson knocked out, coming to, assessing the situation?

10. The plan, the engine, the old submarine? Fraser, his background, Australian accent, daring? Diving, Tobin and his being young, brought on board by Robinson? His going out? Peters, his age, falling and death? Walking along the sea-bed, thinking there was a cliff and hill, the sand covering the swastika, the corpses inside the boat, echoes of cannibalism, the discovery of the gold? Loading it with the piston? The difficulties in bringing it back, the ultimate success?

11. The character of Daniels, his continually whingeing, wanting to go to the surface? His eventually explaining the doublecross to Robinson, the scheme to get all the gold and imprison the men?

12. Fraser, his personality, his doubts, Peters’ death, Daniels and his influence, resisting? The confrontation with Robinson?

13. The plan, to sail across the Black Sea, the skills needed, making progress, estimating the gold and its value?

14. Striking the canyon, the effect? Daniels persuading Fraser to kill the man? The explanation to Robinson? The men in the hold, Daniels closing the door, their drowning? His own death by drowning?

15. Three survivors, Robinson and his obsession about the gold, how correct the accusations? His saying he was against “them” and the challenge to explain who these people were and his explanation of exploitative wealthy people and authorities?

16. Only three diving suits for survival? The sending up Tobin and the sympathetic Russian? Surfacing, the third suit, the gold and the photo?

17. Robinson, his memories, preparing for death?

18. The moral of the story about greed, gold, obsessions, risking life, the desire for life?