Submergence

I am shocked at the negative feedback to this film. It is by no means perfect, but I was moved and genuinely enjoyed it.

The Good: -The acting is fantastic from every performer. -the MUSIC -it's beautiful to look at

• James's story I felt to be very interesting and compelling.

The Negative: -I feel they took too long introducing the characters and letting their love form. On one hand, yes it's nice to not see feelings rushed and force you to try and care. But on the other hand the film isn't about them falling in love, it's about their passions for their respective causes, and that bringing out the best in both of them by seeing it through their love. -Danny's story wasn't near as interesting to me as James's was. Not because of the performances, but I believe the script could have used some tightening, and focused more on the purpose of her expedition instead of her not being able to focus on it because he hasn't replied to her.

Overall:

Solid film, I think it is a bit too long but at the same time I didn't expect it to end, it is very sad and makes you think for awhile after. It's honestly in my opinion, a great film to watch by yourself and just invest yourself into.

7/10

James More (James McAvoy) is a secret agent who goes on a mission to Somalia in order to stop terrorist action but becomes hostage of al-Qaeda instead.

Danielle Flinders (Alicia Vikander) is a bio-mathematician who must carry out an equally dangerous task by diving in the utmost depths of the ocean to collect samples that could lead to groundbreaking discoveries regarding life.

Long flashbacks show how they met each other just before they embarked on their separate journeys and got involved in a romance that is over before it begins, as it turns into a long distance relationship, where the two partners have no way of reaching out to each other. The memory of their time together makes the feeling of isolation they experience during the hard times they are facing even stronger.

The most engaging part of the movie is undoubtedly the flashbacks. Two charismatic leads that form a real bond, not necessarily because of their chemistry, but mostly because they have the chance to express their philosophies by talking about some big social issues (such as the environment, terrorism, or what is the role of the individual against those problems) or personal matters (such as the meaning of life and the fear of death). The gorgeous scenery is a nice touch as well.

On the other hand, both the terrorist and the underwater storyline leave a lot to be desired. There's not much going on in either of them, James is dragged around to various places and almost gets killed each time, while Danielle waits for his call and wonders if he left her.

This film tells the story of a marine biologist and a secret agent, who meet during a holiday but are soon separated.

The first half of the film is basically just Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy on the screen against a really beautiful background. The two leads are beautiful, and the scenery is astounding. The second half takes a turn and have no relationship whatsoever with the first half. The second half just drags on. Overall, the story is really boring. It is unfortunate that the filmmakers have concentrated on beautiful visuals and cinematography, at the expense of a plot.

In spite of its very low 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I watched it because of the lead cast, namely James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander. It's indeed not a great movie, but I didn't feel it deserved such animosity. It's just a plain, "meh", movie. A man and a woman meet during holidays in some sort of vacation village at the French Atlantic coast. He's an agent from the MI6 and she's a oceanographer (he presents himself under the cover of another job). They each take a few days off before an important mission; for him to go obtain intelligence about an IS leader in Africa and her to dive in a deep-sea submarine to find about life at the bottom of the ocean. They fall in love and promise that they'll see each other again. As she engages into the sea, he is taken prisoner, and somehow... (insert some sort of mystical, spiritual stuff). Well, the movie doesn't quite deliver on the spiritual part; the two story-lines just have really nothing in common.

I didn't really mind this lack of overall consistency. There is the first part which is the long, full-fledged love arc in the vacation village. There are some cheesy dialogues and mood music that are reminiscent of weekdays afternoon TV movies but the important cast and the thematic around their characters' jobs (MI6 agent an oceanographer) gave me enough goodwill to care and find some sort of chemistry in their relationship. The second part alternates between him being a prisoner of IS and her going to her day-to-day oceanographic research (before the final dive). Again, it's quite superficial and nothing really stands out, but it's followable. There are nice shots of the sea and of the submarine.

On the technical side the sound mixing was bad and it was hard to understand the dialogues over the background sounds. Some of the framing was awkward, again evocative of TV movies. I watched it without minding, and went on with my life. I've seen way worse and endured way more boredom in films that are considered way better.

The movie is a bit slow and there's some scenes it could do without, but ultimately it is a good movie!

It tells a beautiful story about love, loss, and hope; and if you're a James or Alicia fan it is definitely worth watching. Their performances are amazing and captivating, and you can feel the chemistry.