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BELOW

Above lies a World War II action film; below, a deep-sea supernatural thriller. Despite its title, Below, directed by David N. Twohy (Pitch Black, Impostor), tries to steer a middle course but flounders. It’s 1943 in the North Atlantic, and the American submarine USS Tiger Shark has picked up three survivors from a torpedoed British hospital ship. One, a nurse (Olivia Williams), in addition to enduring the leering hostility a lone woman might expect from a bunch of sweaty seamen crammed into a tube, senses that something is not quite right. The crew — especially Lieutenant Brice (Bruce Greenwood, who was also in Swept Away, so he’s been on two sinking ships in one week), the ad hoc commander — feel the same way about her. The suspense heightens when, as the sub undergoes silent running to evade a German destroyer, a record player suddenly plays a Benny Goodman record!

Someone is, of course, hiding something, but it’s not very interesting, and neither the nonsensical plot nor the bogus special effects add anything to the excitement. Darren Aronofsky (Pi) is credited with co-writing the script; he was also supposed to direct but chose to do Requiem for a Dream instead. I doubt even his helmsmanship could have raised this idiocy from below C level. (104 minutes)

BY PETER KEOUGH

Issue Date: October 17 - October 24, 2002
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