Black Sea *** (2014, Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Tobias Menzies, Ben Mendelsohn) – Movie Review

Jude Law manfully battles odd casting, and an odder ‘Scottish’ accent, as grizzled, veteran submarine skipper Captain Robinson, who is a disgruntled, sacked employee of an ocean salvage company.

Salvation seems to come when he is offered a job with a shadowy backer to search the depths of the Black Sea for a sunken U-boat submarine loaded with $182million in lost Nazi gold. He takes on a group of his fellow former co-workers to join in the undersea hunt. However, once below, he offers the crew equal shares of the spoils, but this means any loss of shipmates would mean fatter payday for the survivors – if they can find the gold, and if they can retrieve it. hell, it’s going to be heavy!

Cliches pile high, or rather deep, as writer Dennis Kelly plumbs the depths of submarine stories to try to find new angles in the old situations. The plot holds about as much water as one of an old James Bond movie. But Black Sea is entertaining enough in its creaky, old-fashioned adventure way. What’s needed is some darkly funny dialogue throughout, and some credible characters and motivations, not to mention a climax you can believe in.

But, still, the Pinewood Studios production’s is very good indeed, and there’s a strong flavour of fear and claustrophobia that keeps a degree of realism creeping back in. Kevin Macdonald‘s direction is conscientious, though this is a notch down in class and achievement from his The Last King of Scotland.

I was trying to work out through the entire movie if Jude Law was doing a Scots accent, a Geordie one or a Russian one. Eventually I thought it was probably Scottish, with a bit of south London, but it never occurred to me he was doing an Aberdeen vocal. And I know he’s doing a character role, but it’s sad to see Jude Law looked as wrecked as this.

Scoot McNairy helps as the weasel American company man forced to go below, Ben Mendelsohn overacts enjoyably as the sub’s psycho, Michael Smiley‘s crewman Reynolds is amusing, David Threlfall makes a fine old sea dog and Karl Davies is fine as the callow young seamate whom the captain tries to protect.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

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