I knew this film was something to do with the myth of the Loch Ness Monster, having seen posters and heard about the plot, and it is based on the book by Dick King-Smith (The Sheep Pig, aka Babe), I was looking forward to it, from director Jay Russell (My Dog Skip, Ladder 49). Basically an American tourist couple go into a bar, they see the famous faked photograph of what was called the Loch Ness Monster, and they meet an old man (Brian Cox) who tells them the story of the mythological creature, this when the film flashes back. In 1942 Scotland, on the shores of Loch Ness lives Angus MacMorrow (Millions star Alex Etel) in a large mansion, with his mother Anne (Emily Watson), his sister Kirstie (Priyanka Xi), a maid, and an old game keeper, the family are joined by handyman Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin), and Angus cannot accept that his Royal Navy sailor father may be dead, he want missing following the sinking of his ship in the war. One day, while collecting seashells in the tide pools, Angus comes across what looks like a large mysterious egg, he takes it home and hides it in his father's shed, and when it hatches it contains an unknown creature, he names the creature "Crusoe", after Robinson Crusoe. Angus decides to keep this creature a secret, until his sister and Lewis find out about it, Lewis says he recognises the creature, from books he has read, he says it is a "Water Horse", it could be a boy or a girl, that it lays one egg, then dies before it can see it hatch, but the three of them will have trouble hiding as he is growing larger very quickly. The house is soon full of troops from the 12th Medium Regiment Royal Artillery, commanded by Captain Thomas Hamilton (David Morrissey), the troops have set up camp at the house, and are also stationed near the lake as defence against possible hiding or attacking German U-Boats, including placing an anti-submarine net at the mouth of the lake. One night Crusoe manages to break free and roams around the house, with the cook's bulldog chasing him, he runs through the dining room, but the dog gets the blame for the mess, while Crusoe spends the night in the fountain feeding on the fish, Lewis finds that he has grown so big, he and Angus know they have no choice but to let him roam free in the loch. Captain Hamilton persuades Argus's mother to let him teach her son some discipline and make a soldier of him, but the boy escapes and returns to Loch Ness to find his much larger friend, who lets him ride on his back, including diving underwater, aquaphobic Angus does eventually learn to enjoy this and overcome his phobia of the sea. This peace for the creature cannot last though, the troops fire a Victoria cannon as a firing demonstration, and Crusoe is shocked the blasts, and getting hit by one of the shots, Angus destroys the cannon to save Crusoe, Hamilton is enraged and Anne slaps her son and punishes him sending him to his room for a month. Two fishermen are amazed by the sight of the monster in the lake, they try to take a photograph to become rich, but with the firing of the cannon and other demonstrations going on they know they cannot capture the real thing, so they create an imitation model, this results in the real-life faked picture of The Loch Ness Monster, also known as "The Surgeon's Photo". The hoax photograph is put in the newspaper, and it does spark the interest of some of the soldiers who venture out on the lake to find the creature and kill it, and they have the bulldog to help locate it, Crusoe still in shock capsizes the soldier boat, but Angus tries to calm him down, only to fall and sink into the water, Crusoe rescues him. Captain Hamilton and Anne see Crusoe for themselves also, but for his own shelter and safety the creature must get away, somehow getting past the anti-submarine net, he manages to crush it with his weight and escape the lake, Angus never saw the creature again, ending his story the old man says that many people have claimed to see the Loch Ness Monster, or "Nessie", over the years, he reveals himself to the couple to be Old Angus, and at the end of the film a little boy is seen on the beach picking up a new mysterious egg. Also starring Marshall Napier as Sgt. Strunk, Joel Tobeck as Sgt. Walker and Bruce Allpress as Jock McGowan. Etel is a good choice as the little boy hiding the mysterious creature, and the adult stars Watson, Chaplin and Morrissey are good choices also, the special effects CGI to bring the creature to life are fantastic, I can see the similarities with E.T., and there was a hint of Free Willy, but the story does not have clichéd sentimentality, it is sophisticated with its approach to wartime events and paranoia, some small sequences may make children shiver, but otherwise all the family watching can enjoy this magical journey, a terrific fantasy adventure. Very good!
Review of The Water Horse
