3.5 stars (out of 5)
Submarine dramas are a claustrophobic bunch, and director/producer Kevin Macdonald’s follow-up to How I Live Now (and the more prestigious The Last King Of Scotland and State Of Play) is tense, blokey stuff toplined by an impressive performance from a formidably crew-cutted Jude Law affecting an impressive Aberdonian accent.
Robinson (Jude), a longtime sub captain with many years’ experience in salvage, is let go by his employers, and loses himself for a while in drinking and painful memories of his alienated ex-wife and son (and quick glimpses of Jodie Whittaker’s Chrissy prove to be the only real female presence in the whole film). Robinson hears a whisper that a mysterious millionaire is looking to back a secret operation, and after meeting with advisor Daniels (Scoot McNairy), he’s appointed captain and permitted to assemble much of his own crew, which eventually includes old mate Reynolds (Michael Smiley), hothead Fraser (Ben Mendelsohn), gormless young Liam (Karl Davies), an unwilling Daniels and some rangy Russians. Their mission: to stealthily search beneath the Black Sea for a supposed sub full of Nazi gold. But can they suppress their collective testosterone, racism, pride and macho bullshit in order to find the stuff? And what happens if they do?
Shot in a genuine Soviet sub that remained stationary throughout (a little FX aids in the illusion that it’s actually moving), this features one of Law’s best performances, as well as plenty of sweaty atmosphere and a suspenseful and surprising final act that almost makes your ears pop from the pressure.
I Wake Up Screening 