MovieChat Forums > Beneath (2021) Discussion > completely unrealistic....

completely unrealistic....


Contains spoilers:
I knew before watching this film that it's about friends that are stuck in a boat and they have to sacrifice one of them to survive but I didn't expect such an unrealistic turn of events. They quickly agree to toss one of them. It doesn't happen after they've tried other solutions, after waiting for someone to save them ( I don't understand why they didn't just do that, yes the boat was sinking but it was clearly not sinking at a speed where they couldn't dump the water that is entering the boat). Even if there is no solution, if they are friends there's no way friends would decide to throw one of them to be killed. that's what really bothered me. I was expecting a situation where they are forced to do it, but all I got was one person suggesting the idea and people start getting thrown overboard. Also there's a scene where they were on their way and the boat was moving forward but suddenly after three of them had already died one of the characters decides to stop and confront his brother about sleeping with his girlfriend (convenient timing). Also let's say friends will turn on each other, there's no way BROTHERS suddenly start fighting to the death for a GIRL who's sleeping with both of them in a situation like this. And finally the guy who stays alive at the end (before getting shot in the leg and eaten by the fish) is clearly a psycho. He swings at his brother with an axe, he throws one of his friends in the lake, and finally kills the girl, so why hasn't any of his craziness appeared before. He suddenly became a psycho on the boat ? C'mon. I really wanted this to be good. One thing I appreciate is that they didn't use CGI to make some fake syfy looking creature and even the cuts were done well. Directing, cinematography, and acting was ok (nothing special). I actually liked the sound. Writing is awful(some really bad cheesy unrealistic dialogue).

reply

I kinda got what they were trying to do with this film - it was a little like THE BREAKFAST CLUB in a horror movie setting... but the execution was terrible. Almost everything about the plot was pretty dumb.
I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean.

reply



Yes, friends don't treat each other that way, and I think that ultimately was the point the movie was trying to make. These people weren't truly friends to begin with.

Their camaraderie was superficial and fell apart the moment a truly terrifying experience forced them to trust and rely on each other. Yes, that makes them all unlikeable, but to a degree it's realistic. The monster was just a creepy Macguffin. The real plot was all about betrayal.

The script isn't going to win any Oscars but I thought it did a beautiful job of fileting the self-obsessed attitudes of the Millennial generation.

reply

interesting point about them not being friends to begin with but still, even if they're not friends, just people who have just met they wouldn't so easily turn on each other. A decision like that doesn't happen so easily. it seemed forced in my opinion. They weren't at a point where that seemed the only solution.

reply

Their camaraderie was superficial and fell apart the moment a truly terrifying experience forced them to trust and rely on each other. Yes, that makes them all unlikeable, but to a degree it's realistic. The monster was just a creepy Macguffin. The real plot was all about betrayal.

Nicely put!
I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean.

reply

I agree. The "fish" was really a red herring it seemed. Even the tagline of the film "They're only friends on the surface" tells you that none of them really trusts each other. I guess the title "Beneath" has less to do with the "fish" beneath the water and more to do with the true relationship between these people "beneath" the surface.

reply

Very good. The monster was more of a plot device than usual, as it shows up intermittently and sometimes ignores the characters.

reply

"The fish was a red herring"

heh heh.


- David

Breaking Down Bergman
http://www.youtube.com/breakingdownfilms

reply

And finally the guy who stays alive at the end (before getting shot in the leg and eaten by the fish) is clearly a psycho

Toward the end he turned into a psycho but for most of the film he was just a moron. He lost oars (one for sure can't remember if he lost both) and the bailing device because, well, he's a moron (paddling with an ice box, really?). He should've been the first one chucked out of the boat after the oar incident. Christ if they were stuck on a bus roof with a killer bear below he'd probably stab the bus keys into the bear

Also what was with throwing crisps into the lake after the fish had eaten one of them? What did they think would happen? The fish would go. "Hmmm, these tiny crisps are tastier than the human I just ate. Tell you what folks, I'll let you swim to shore and won't eat you as long as you bring me more crisps."

John Hancock

reply

Of course this is unrealistic!

What would *I* have done in this situation?!

I would have tried to make a rope out of~ummmm~tearing apart some clothes. Yes! That's it! Then, let's see... Use that clothing-rope to lassoo the oar sticking out of the water from the back of the fish. Then~hmmmm~go for a Nantucket sleighride till the fish wears out, swim to shore, haul it in, build a fire and have a fish fry!

There! Isn't THAT a plan?!

I know plenty of guys out there are saying, "Then, they should have saved the other girl so they'd have to~y'know~get outta those wet suits. Boobies=}" *BeavisandButthead chortles* Sorry, guys. I know that's why you watch most horror films: in the hopes of seeing nudity of the female kind. Well, in MY version, maybe the males have that honor. Then, your girlfriends will say, "It's about time!"

BTW: Someone somewhere wondered where the old guy got the camera: The arm floated to shore obviously! The whopper fish doesn't like the taste of modern technology.

EDIT: To be serious (yes, that was me trying to be funny): I agreed about the "beneath" having a double meaning, and, yes, the fish is the proverbial red herring. Is this a genre or just a subgenre: placing "friends" in a tight spot then waiting till they show their true nature?

As for the psycho not showing that side before: The girl did say she liked "the animal" in his nature.


*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***

reply

Repeat after me, Jason: Paragraphs are our friends. Use them.

---
"Into every life a little coffee must spill."

reply