CRUSHTRASH

After mixed reviews, but wanting to see Steve Nicolson's portrayal of Yuri (after his EE stint and the suspect All Men Are Mortal), I wasn't quite sure what to expect (bar some very dodgy Russian accents).

The case of the rental copy I have watched hypes the movie too much, and classes it as 'action' - but although the movie is actually very watchable, if a little harrowing in places, the pace is more gradually intense than action-packed! Harrison is OK, if anything Liam's demoted Captain is arguably the more interesting character, and the supporting cast give a gritty and emotional performances throughout. Aforementioned Mr Nicolson does a good job as the officer who decides to lead a mini-mutiny - although with limited success (without giving too much away). OK the (final) ending may be a little too sentimental for some, although the aging of the two leads is excellently done, and the occasional texts non-too-subtle, but all in all this film has some good moments and is genuinely claustrophobic. When the crew actually see daylight/dry land (well, ice) and play football you almost share in their relief at leaving the enclosed and cramped conditions in the sub!!! Against expectations, an 8/10 as long as you don't take it all too literally.

Should've gone with the previous reviewer's 'warning' and not video'd the Jan 1st 3am showing. However there were some interesting moments and appearances - but these do not make this a satisfying cinematic experience. In fact they show how unpleasant and dysfunctional most of the characters are. The leads' presence and acting skill are not enough to lift this from C-movie territory, although as text it may well have worked far better. Occasional strange overdubs ('hospital laughing' scene is so bad it is in fact laughable) and apparent odd edits (may have been ITV's hands though) just add to the lack of atmosphere.

Oddities/highlights include the sole 'warm' character in the film, the lead female's Maid, who should be commended for introducing the only real human elements into this production. John Nettles' appearance as the slightly bumbling Theatre Company Director is quite endearing, and the post-intercourse scene Trumpet-Playing is pretty surreal. Steve Nicolson's ham-actor character with apparent socialist tendencies is somewhat confusing, and the inclusion of his boxing scene (where he gets decked whilst spouting self-written poetry by his true working-class opponent) is lightly humourous, if somewhat detached from the rest of the movie.

Overall a lot of the cast were capable of far more, and you wonder why they were doing this in 1995! Certainly curio value only.