I don't think this is really a spoiler, but just to play it safe I am giving notice.
I liked this movie quite a lot, but maybe would not have had I known more about it. I expected there to be scenes of the incompetent boat crew discovering the error (I mean earlier, when it could have helped) and the ensuing search. I was taken completely by surprise by the way the movie played out. I also think that the extreme dislike of some reviewers is just another example of the inability of most people today to enjoy a movie that is not full of action. When I watch a movie like the original version of "The Flight of the Phoenix" or "Glengarry Glen Ross" I realize that no major studio would make these movies today.
I have no doubt that had a major (or even not-so-major) studio made this movie it would have been very different, probably better. But, just as I can enjoy a good high school hockey game, I can enjoy a small movie for what it is.
I noted one reviewer of "Open Water" excoriating the couple for not getting back in time. In fact, Daniel states quite emphatically that it is not yet the appointed time for the boat to leave. The crew had simply decided that everyone was back and left. Reviewers of the movie have described the event as a careless accident. Not at all. This would be nothing short of criminal negligence. There must be 100 acceptable ways to avoid leaving someone and the crew managed to avoid all of them. The frightening thing is that I have taken excursions in the Caribbean and other resort areas with crews that were no better.
If you have any interest in the film (like it or not), it is worth getting the DVD and watching the special features. The director and actors describe making the movie and actually swimming among the sharks (no computer graphics or stunt doubles). Those scenes were scarier than the ones in the movie. Also, they describe the very limited resources they had. This is a (married) couple of talented people who decide (for the second time) to make a movie and set out to do it, the way an ordinary couple might add a room to their house. Kentis even worked at his day job all the while. At a time when people complain that corporations rule, they show once again that individuals can do things now they never could have done in the past.
I liked this movie quite a lot, but maybe would not have had I known more about it. I expected there to be scenes of the incompetent boat crew discovering the error (I mean earlier, when it could have helped) and the ensuing search. I was taken completely by surprise by the way the movie played out. I also think that the extreme dislike of some reviewers is just another example of the inability of most people today to enjoy a movie that is not full of action. When I watch a movie like the original version of "The Flight of the Phoenix" or "Glengarry Glen Ross" I realize that no major studio would make these movies today.
I have no doubt that had a major (or even not-so-major) studio made this movie it would have been very different, probably better. But, just as I can enjoy a good high school hockey game, I can enjoy a small movie for what it is.
I noted one reviewer of "Open Water" excoriating the couple for not getting back in time. In fact, Daniel states quite emphatically that it is not yet the appointed time for the boat to leave. The crew had simply decided that everyone was back and left. Reviewers of the movie have described the event as a careless accident. Not at all. This would be nothing short of criminal negligence. There must be 100 acceptable ways to avoid leaving someone and the crew managed to avoid all of them. The frightening thing is that I have taken excursions in the Caribbean and other resort areas with crews that were no better.
If you have any interest in the film (like it or not), it is worth getting the DVD and watching the special features. The director and actors describe making the movie and actually swimming among the sharks (no computer graphics or stunt doubles). Those scenes were scarier than the ones in the movie. Also, they describe the very limited resources they had. This is a (married) couple of talented people who decide (for the second time) to make a movie and set out to do it, the way an ordinary couple might add a room to their house. Kentis even worked at his day job all the while. At a time when people complain that corporations rule, they show once again that individuals can do things now they never could have done in the past.