‘The Dive’ tells the story of two sisters, May (Louisa Krause) and Drew (Sophie Lowe), as they embark on an annual diving trip. An accident follows a rock-fall, trapping May 90 feel below the surface, forcing the two sisters to think on their feet and act fast in order to save May from drowning.
Diving right in to it, the film doesn’t waste time regaling the viewers with elaborate and extended expositional dumps or awkward dialogue between the two sisters, with their relationship unfurling on screen as organically as possible. Krause and Lowe provide for an insight into the sisters’ relationship, without revealing any specific incidents that may have lead them there, the underlying tension is ever-present, as Krause’s May harbours unresolved emotions and even resentment towards Drew.
Used as one facet of the story, the sisters’ relationship and individual personalities mirror their dive. With May becoming trapped under a fallen rock and advising Drew on how to proceed in order for them both to survive, the film delivers a handful of suspenseful moments, serving well to spike tension an keep the viewer drawn to the screen. Interspersed with shots from the past, showing the two sisters as little girls, the memories May sees as she struggles to carry on cut the tension to the story, doing the thrilling set-up a disservice and slowing the pace of the film.
Never quite managing to reach the ultimate height of tension, ‘The Dive’ divides its time between the ambiguous childhood imagery, suggesting little by way of why May may resent Drew and further complicating the motivation by suggesting May is suffering nitrogen narcosis, leaving a very muddled message in terms of what May’s reason for souring on Drew, and their family as a whole, may be.
Lowe succeeds in displaying the true struggle and desperation that Drew is going through as she tries to do what she can to save May. Following her sister’s instructions, trying to get the spare oxygen tanks and the car jack from the boot, Drew is thwarted every step of the way. The rock-fall has blocked the tanks, the boot doesn’t open and she fails to hail a nearby boat for help.
The struggle is real, as the little sister does everything she can and is met with adversity every step of the way. Things going from bad to worse lead us to believe May will not survive, with the film convincingly throwing us to the depths of despair as the main characters lose hope. The finale turns expectations on their head, as the sisters manage to save themselves. Without intervention from outside forces, May and Drew find strength to pull themselves ashore delivering an inspiring testament to resilience and tenacity.
With truly stirring moments of suspense and despair, the film somehow doesn’t quite manage to execute and deliver a story that dives deep into exploring May’s character or deliver on memorable action sequences. Not quite gelling together, ‘The Dive’ hits a few high notes, but ultimately disappoints as the film has so many well executed sequences that are a little too far apart to mesh and weave together a truly cohesive whole.
Score: 2/4
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