Head Above Water

The great thing about this film is that once the usual character-building stuff is out of the way, you will not move an inch and your eyes will only move if you have a widescreen television...

Sterling performances from both Harvey Keitell and Cameron Diaz really make this film come alive and as incident after incident fall upon the hapless couple, you feel yourself gripping the chair more and more, your nails getting smaller and smaller, and the enjoyment increasing and increasing.

All in all, Head Above Water is a great film, with good (if not at times, erratic) directing, and with superb acting.

Quick note for the norwegian readers. The film "Head above water is a remake of Mikkel Gaups' "Hodet over vannet". The original is much better. Also, don't leave the theatre at once, wait until after the credits :)

I really enjoyed the performances in this film. Harvey Keitel again proves his tremendous range. Cameron Diaz is a very talented comedic actress and her makeup is very skillfully applied in this film. Billy Zane is again a third wheel (see Dead Calm and Titanic) but this time it's a comedy. The plot twists and turns are great fun to follow. 8/10.

"Head Above Water" certainly isn't a classic film or anything, yet it's probably worth a watch even though the film is short and the humor is dark and the plot is somewhat weak. The performances from Diaz and Keitel make it worth a view. Cameron Diaz as sexy as ever stars as Nathalie a free spirited young lady who's had a rough past with substance abuse, and supposedly now that her spouse is a judge named George(Harvey Keitel)her problems have washed ashore at their summer beach place. Upon a visit from an ex flame of Nathalie's a young man Kent(Billy Zane)takes an unexpected departure and things only become more complex when nearby friend Lance(Craig Sheffer)rounds out the mix in what is found to be a triple love triangle! Overall nothing great it's just some good and sexy work from Diaz in one of her early works as the plot just unravels to show a slick and messy triple love triangle.

I love comedies, especially when they are dark like "Head Above Water". I remember seeing this movie for the very first time about five years ago and it had me completely in its power. But in the meantime I've seen so many good movies, that I wondered if this would still be as good as I remembered it to be. The answer is no, not completely. Yes, it is still a very nice movie, but not as great as some other dark comedies that I've seen in the recent past.

Nathalie has recently been married to George, a prominent judge who she met when she had to stand trial. They now have taken a holiday in Nathalie's idyllic summerhouse in the middle of nowhere and the only person in the neighborhood is Nathalie's old friend and neighbor Lance, who joins them. When George and Lance go on a fishing trip, Nathalie's former lover turns up. He has a couple of drinks and then falls asleep in Nathalies bed ... naked. When George and Lance suddenly come back home, Nathalie panics. She tries to wake Lance up, but he's dead and the only idea she can come up with is hiding his body under the floor board, where he will soon be discovered...

Despite or perhaps thanks to the small cast, you'll see some fine acting. Harvey Keitel is a good actor and he does a nice job playing the judge who goes crazy. Cameron Diaz is also enjoyable as Nathalie, the woman with more troubles around her head than she can cope with. In fact, all actors did a good and convincing job portraying their characters, but it wasn't enough to make this movie a masterpiece. What bothered me most was the fact that it all started to go too far. All the characters had to die in such an unbelievable and over-the-top way, that it spoiled a lot of my fun. Nevertheless I must admit that I enjoyed big parts of the movie and that's why I still give it a 7/10. It's not the best example of a dark comedy, but I've seen worse.