How Deep Is the Ocean

This film is probably a common tragic story for wandering youth or young adults where the protagonist Eleanor seems to aimlessly drift from one pointless human encounter striving to find some meaning or happiness.

We know fairly little about her apart from her broken family history back in Adelaide and interestingly she spurns the advances of the one character who may likely give her the comfort and security that she really needs in her wandering life.

Despite the occasionally obvious improv dialogue the film actually has a more realistic script than many indie films that try to create natural speech interactions and results in a jumble of words that people often use if conversation.

How Deep is the Ocean is a thoughtful film that does a good job of exploring the loneliness that runaway youth or drifters experience each day. The long unbroken scene takes will likely challenge those with a 3 second attention span but the beauty is in the ability to stop and watch the characters closely and in this Director Andrew Walsh gives us full serving.

A young woman, out of her element and in over her head, tries to find her way in a new city. Moving into a room in a house with a creepy drunk guy we watch her struggle to find a new job and adjust to her new living situation. As she struggles she tries to find love in all the wrong places and pays for her naive mistakes. In this raw and humorous film we see just how friendships can be formed in the strangest ways and coming of age can take a toll. Being that the film was improvised it's quite impressive. The characters are very realistic and natural. The camera work and picture is very well done and being shot in Australia it's an interesting watch.

As an American watching an indie drama set in Australia, I was distracted by the beauty of the country and the intricacies and struggles of Australian life. While we can all relate with the struggles of everyday life I found it interesting seeing such portrayals in a world I'm unfamiliar with.

Olivia fiddles is an excellent actress in portraying the struggles and realities of life. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to walk out on my job but never had to guts to do so; it was satisfying seeing her pull the trigger on what I couldn't do.

The film takes a very impromptu approach in its film making style. The scenes seem to almost unfold naturally as Olivia deals with the struggles that director, Andrew Walsh, dishes at her time and time again! If you're interested in seeing the struggles of a young Australian coming of age definitely give How Deep is the Ocean a try!

How Deep is the Ocean is worth a watch. It is a mostly improvised film without much scripted dialogue and is well acted. It is an exploration of Eleanor, played by Olivia Fildes, finding herself in a new environment, the larger city of Melbourne, where she is just looking for a job and will not settle for just anything. She faces unexpected and unfortunate circumstances and the film shows the complexities and realities of living and surviving in a big city. Harsh lessons are learned, but most importantly, life keeps on moving forward.

I loved the shots of Melbourne, the camera work and the natural dialogue. This gave me of feel of Cassavete's Shadows, a raw experimental take on the communion and relationships of people. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to see more of Andrew Walsh's work. This is not your conventional film and it was beautiful exploration of the human condition.

"How Deep is the Ocean" is a slice-of-life drama that follows Eleanor, a young woman in her early twenties, as she moves from Adelaide to a new city, grappling with loneliness and the search for identity. Faced with an unreliable, alcoholic roommate and a rundown room, Eleanor's life feels far from ideal, and her struggles with connection and finding meaningful work are palpable.

The film opens with stunning shots of flowing water, setting the tone for a narrative that is deeply rooted in reality, yet unafraid to embrace life's more poetic moments. The music is thoughtfully crafted, complementing the film's beautiful cinematography. The performances are grounded, authentic, and lived-in, giving the film emotional depth.

I absolutely loved this movie, especially its structure, which feels like a collection of vignettes centered around the people Eleanor encounters. It reminds me of how I reflect on my own youth. It's refreshing to see truly independent films like "How Deep is the Ocean" being made around the world-films that embody the DIY ethos and craft engaging, meaningful stories that connect us on a deeply human level.