This film generates real suspense, in spite of its flaws. These include some measure of predictability that is usually inherent in the genre, and a couple of large plot holes. For example, I can't imagine an Australian naval officer having the wherewithal to own, or even rent a yacht like that. Also there was a gun on board, but it takes Rae almost half of the movie to start trying to get it, when I should think that would have been her focus from the moment Huey broke out of the cabin. She also had a large knife in her hand at one point and never tried to use it, or get to it before or after that point. Also the ending was the kind of thing everyone's seen before. But, hey, it's a movie. Now, here is what was done well. You have to hand it to all three of the main actors for their performances. Sam Neill does his character in a kind of understated, British sort of way. (Yes, I know he's a kiwi) A lot of actors would have taken this role over the top. Billy Zane was as creepy as always. He can really play a nut case. You've got to wonder about him. And Nicole Kidman. Her character finds great reserves of inner strength at a point in her life when many women might just give up, and Kidman makes it believable. Her fresh, blue-eyed beauty is a joy to watch. (Nice buns, too!) Also the photography of the vast empty ocean brings home the fact that there will be no external help, no rescue, that John and Rae must rely upon their own resourcefulness to survive.
