Dead Calm

This taut thriller set in the high seas off the coast of Australia takes about ten minutes to set the hook in the squiggly part of viewers' brains, before dragging them on a whirlwind ride of sweat-producing suspense. John (Sam Neill) and Rae Ingram (Nicole Kidman) are on a mourning cruise after the tragic death of their son. One morning they are approached by Hughie (Billy Zane), the sole survivor of a listing schooner. After putting the exhausted Hughie into bed, John goes off in a lifeboat to check out the schooner (all aboard having died of botulism, according to Hughie). To his horror, John discovers the body-strewn results of a murderous spree, and Rae is subdued by the nutcase Hughie, and then the suspense really begins... Producer George Miller (the Mad Max films) and director Phillip Noyce have crafted a relentless psychological/action film that remains both inventive and plausible, up until the ridiculous ending (which hurts but doesn't destroy the movie). And Kidman is a wonderfully believable female heroine--she's not a cartoon Amazon; she's just a resourceful woman who uses her brain to navigate some pretty dire straits. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)