The Sea (2013 film)
The Sea is a 2013 British-Irish drama film directed by Stephen Brown. It is based on the novel of the same name by John Banville, who also wrote the screenplay for the film.[2] The film premiered in competition at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 23 June 2013.[1] The film had its North American premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[3][4]
| The Sea | |
|---|---|
Promotional Poster | |
| Directed by | Stephen Brown |
| Screenplay by | John Banville |
| Based on | The Sea, a novel by John Banville |
| Produced by | David Collins Michael Robinson Luc Roeg |
| Starring | Rufus Sewell Natascha McElhone Ciarán Hinds Sinéad Cusack Bonnie Wright |
| Cinematography | John Conroy |
| Edited by | Stephen O'Connell |
| Music by | Andrew Hewitt |
Production companies | Rooks Nest Entertainment Samson Films Quicksilver Films RTÉ Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Irish Film Board BBC Films |
| Distributed by | Independent |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes[1] |
| Countries | Ireland United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Premise
The story of a man who returns to the sea where he spent his childhood summers in search of peace following the death of his wife.
Cast
- Rufus Sewell as Carlo Grace
- Natascha McElhone as Connie Grace
- Ciarán Hinds as Max Morden
- Sinéad Cusack as Anna Morden
- Bonnie Wright as Rose
- Charlotte Rampling as Miss Vavasour
- Ruth Bradley as Claire
- Karl Johnson as Blunden
- Mark Huberman as Jerome
- Missy Keating as Chloe
- Matthew Dillon as Young Max
- Amy Molloy as Shop Girl (Sadie)
- Stephen Cromwell as Young Tough (Mick)
Production
The producer of the film Luc Roeg said that "I've wanted to make a film of John Banville's haunting and soulful novel for several years and it's been worth the wait. I'm excited to introduce a new film maker, Stephen Brown, to world cinema and I couldn't be more delighted with the cast and crew we've assembled together with our producing partners at Samson Films."[2]
Filming started in September 2012 and finished in January 2013.[5][6]
Reception
The Sea premièred at the 2013 Edinburgh International Film Festival and received mixed reviews. Rating it at 7/10,the Screenkicker website said "intimate, superbly acted meditation on grief and abandonment that will make you think about how we cope with tragedy".[7] Marc Adams, chief film critic of Screen Daily wrote, "the film's emotional still waters run deep and the film is gently watchable as a series of fine actors deliver nuanced and powerful performances."[8] Guy Lodge of Variety wrote "This good, middlebrow adaptation of John Banville's Booker Prize-novel sacrifices structural intricacy for Masterpiece-style emotional accessibility." And added "Afforded the least, but most searing, screen time are Anna's final days, which economically imply longer-running problems in Max’s marriage. In a uniformly strong cast, a superbly terse Cusack cuts that little bit deeper as a dying woman who understandably has no time for her husband’s hovering pain."[9]
Local response was less favourable. Niki Boyle of Film List, a Scottish web magazine, gave the film two out of five stars and said that "Hinds and Rampling are suitably low-key, and character actor Karl Johnson puts in a decent turn as a more poignant version of The Major from Fawlty Towers, but the whole thing feels utterly derivative, from the contrast between the muted-palette and light-saturated flashbacks, to the spare, mournful piano-and-violin score."[10] Rob Dickie of "Sound on Sight", praised the performance of cast but criticise the pace and climax of the film by saying that " the pace is lethargic, there are no surprising revelations and the ending is horribly anticlimactic, meaning the strong performances and flashes of visual flair go to waste."[11]
Ross Miller of Thoughts on Film gave it 1 out of 5 stars, saying that, "What could have been a fascinating and melancholic look at memory, regret and loss is actually a boring and monotonous character drama... a pretentious mess that's a chore to sit through."[12] Emma Thrower of The Hollywood News also gave film a negative review by saying that "A frustrating blend of wooden and naturalistic, it is a surprise to realise author John Banville is responsible for a screenplay that often unfolds like an overblown television drama. Rufus Sewell and Bonnie Wright also suffer in these laborious and often unwelcome instagram-filtered interludes, Sewell an incongruous pantomime villain and Wright an underused but ultimately ineffective screen presence."[13]
The Sea also served as the closing film at "25th Galway Film Fleadh", at 14 July 2013.[14][15] IconCinema listed The Sea at its Top 200 most anticipated films of 2013.[16]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Edinburgh International Film Festival | Audience Award Nominee | Nominated[1] | |
| 2014 | IFTA Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Sinéad Cusack | Won |
References
- ^ a b c d "Michael Powell Award Competition / World premiere". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Ciaran Hinds, Charlotte Rampling, Natascha McElhone, Rufus Sewell Assemble for 'The Sea' in Ireland". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. "Toronto Sets World Cinema Film Lineup". Deadline. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ . tiff.net. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ "Natascha McElhone Joins 'The Sea' As Production Begins". Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "Bonnie Wright in first on-set look from "The Sea", completes filming". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ "THE SEA – REVIEW". Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- ^ "THE SEA". Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- ^ Lodge, Guy. "Edinburgh Film Review: 'The Sea'". Variety. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "Restrained drama adapted from John Banville's Booker Prize-winning novel". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ "EIFF 2013: The Sea is a well-acted but lethargic exploration of memory". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ "EIFF 2013: The Sea Movie Review". Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "EIFF 2013: The Sea Review". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ "Tasting Menu, The Sea bookend Galway". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ "The Sea – Closing Film". Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ "Top 200 most anticipated films of 2013". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
External links
- The Sea at IMDb
- The Sea at AllMovie
- The Sea at Rotten Tomatoes