Saw the movie Open Water on Sunday.

I liked the movie. It was well shot, pretty well acted, and ultimately realistic. It drew me in and made me feel with and for the characters, which I always hold highest in movies.

"Based on a true story," Open Water is an account of a couple that gets left behind by a busy, laid back diving charter tour. It gave a fair representation of how one might be accidentally left behind, and a probable and realistic account of what might happen if one were to be stranded. I liked how the circumstances were made clear, without making it out to be the poor head-count guy's fault. One pair of divers gets counted twice. Pair that with them arriving a little later than the others, by a few minutes, and it seems like it could happen.

The actors were all pretty much unknown. Looking at the IMDB credits it seems that some of them have been in other small works. Definately an unrecognizable bunch. This worked for me because there weren't any expectations or preconceptions about their performances.

The setting was basically the ocean. A little before, getting to the ocean, and bits of reminders of what everyone else was up to, or what our couple would have been up to had they made the boat in time, without actually following or involving the other characters.

At times I almost expected Jaws-like interaction, but the sharks were presented like one might expect if one were floating there. Occasional, curious passes and splashes. Darts and glimpses under water. Shilouettes and shadows from other views. Basically, an old-school thriller where the bits of scare are left to the observer.

Spoiler follows!

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