There is something both amazing and horrifying about the human animal, and that is its relentless drive to push itself further and further. Perhaps it’s a way to evolve as a species, or perhaps it’s just a sort of existential boredom. Maybe it’s a little of both. There are always people who are willing to travel deep into the darkness, past the norm, to see how far they can push the body and will. As a society, we love the stories of people overcoming great odds, and there’s a part of us that loves to gawk at the remains if things don’t work out. We know the dangers of going too far, but we go there anyway because someone has to.
Such is the story of ROW, which finds four people willing to venture deep into the ocean’s darkness and discover that the most horrifying things there are the ghosts that exist within us all.
ROW begins with a woman washing ashore on a beach after having been lost at sea. She is battered, exhausted, and near death when she is found. As she is attended to, an officer attempts to determine what happened to the other three members of the boat’s crew that the woman was on. Slowly, the woman remembers what happened during the trans-Atlantic trip that could have broken records, but she will find no comfort in the truth, and no safety from its repercussions.
ROW is a taut, chilling thriller that makes the ocean a fifth member of the core cast. It cannot be easy to film in these sorts of conditions, nor to act in them, but once you are pulled in, the claustrophobia of the conditions gets you in their grasp. The film is beautifully shot, capturing the wildness of the water, and putting you on that boat, which feels smaller, and smaller, and smaller as the film progresses. The actors do a wonderful job of ratcheting up the tension but keeping things grounded. This all “feels real.”
A thriller, through and through, when the truth finally comes out, there is still nothing easy to find; the waters here are choppy as well. This is a story of how big or small, everything can affect the fate of the group, and how we bring our own ghosts to every party.
The story may feel familiar, but it’s true; however, it’s how this film is crafted and how it plays out that makes it stand out among other similar thrillers. From beginning to end, this is a tense film that keeps you guessing until the very end. Even the music, with someone droning ‘row, row, row,’ helps set the tone. The film delves deeply into themes of isolation, mistrust, and fear, and the setting of the ocean, along with an isolated recovery bed, effectively drives the point home.
ROW is a wonderfully crafted film and a nerve-jangling tale of pushing deep into the darkness, beyond human experience, and the dangers that lie there. If you are a fan of thrillers, it’s one not to miss.
4 out of 5
ROW will hit UK cinemas on September 5th and will be available on DVD & digital platforms from September 29th.
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