The Woman in Cabin 10

This was a perfectly fine easy watch Netflix thriller. Keira Knightley gives a strong performance that rises above the material. The ensemble cast are fine, but border more on stereotypes. Hannah Waddingham seems to especially be firmly type cast now.

Some beautiful cinematography helps establish the Norwegian setting and atmosphere.

An easy watch for a rainy day.

A reporter played by Keira Knightley is brought in to cover a story on a luxury yacht as it sails from the UK to Norway. One night she thinks she seems someone go overboard, but there is no record of such a person ever having been on the boat. Is she losing her mind, or is something going on?

The film is a modern day take on the 1938 Hitchcock film The Lady Vanishes, using the same underlying concept. It starts off strong, gradually building up the background of the story and characters, and making good use of the setting on this beautifully designed boat, letting it almost become like another character.

However as time goes on, the twists and turns in the story start coming a little too unsatisfyingly fast. You don't get to enjoy the unraveling of the mystery as much as you could, and the implausibilities start building up.

The final act really falls flat, as things become increasingly ludicrous.

Overall not a bad film, starts off strong, but then descends into mediocrity. 6/10.

"The Woman in Cabin 10" sets itself up with all the right ingredients - big names splashed across the credits, a yacht so sleek it makes you wonder who you have to know just to step on deck, and the kind of British accents that dress up even the most ordinary line of dialogue. At the center, there's Keira Knightley, who has that rare thing you can't fake - she walks into a frame and you believe her, you root for her, even before she's said a word. Through her, we're pulled into this world of polished surfaces and bottomless champagne flutes, a fantasy of luxury until the whole thing tilts into something darker. A scream in the night. A shadow where it doesn't belong. Suddenly we're not watching a travelogue anymore; we're caught in a whodunnit, with everyone on board a suspect and nobody telling the truth. The trouble is, the story isn't as fresh as it thinks it is. You've seen this ride before - mystery built on familiar scaffolding, twists you can spot if you've been paying attention, and the occasional scene that exists only because the plot won't move without it. And yet - Knightley keeps you there. She carries the film on sheer presence, makes you forget the clichés long enough to see it through, and when the ending finally lands, it does just enough to leave you satisfied. Without her, this would've been another forgettable thriller lost at sea. With her, it earns its 7 out of 10, not great, not groundbreaking, but worth the watch.

Few years ago I was moaning that we were over populated by superhero movies with no end in sight. Well I spoke to soon, and now I'm plagued by a never ending cycle of ensemble murder mysteries.

I'll start by saying this is not by any means a terrible movie and almost definitely doesn't deserve 1 or 2 star ratings but it sure as hell is not a great movie. In fact in about six months time from now I would of likely forgotten all about watching this movie, and this review will almost be like a diary entry reminding me i did in fact watch this.

In truth, this movie is just not as smart as it believes it should be (Knives Out it is not). There was definitely glimpses of what could of been, but it's quickly ruined by some lackluster bored performances and some implausible twists and turns that completely shut me off.

There are some positives, I actually enjoyed the overall look of the movie, similar to other Netflix products the money is completely well spent on its production values, and I very much imagine director Simon Stone will find little obstacles in the way of getting future projects. It was a welcome return for Kiera Knightley in a major picture whose projects have been very sporadic since the pirates franchise, who gives a fairly decent performance.

The problem is, it's a ensemble cast, with some decent names, primarily British actors but well known Australian actor Guy Pearce as well. And outside of a lukewarm decent performance from Kiera, noone really stands out, at all. Not their performances and especially not their written characters.

Truth be told, outside of looking well shot and a possibly half decent idea for a premise, it's awfully bland. The dialogue is thin, the whole cover up and everyone is a villain plot is just ludicrous. Thankfully it's not a long movie with a relatively short runtime of 1 hour 32 minutes so doesn't feel like I've completely wasted my time. But wether it's trying to be a murder mystery of a thriller it really lacks the depth of either and ultimately just becomes a one time watch in the background.

Greetings again from the darkness. We all love a thrilling whodunit murder mystery. The best ones offer a magical blend of creative story, interesting setting, and fascinating characters. Writer-director Simon Stone (THE DIG, 2021) has delivered a film adapted from the best-selling 2016 novel by Ruth Ware. Frequent writing partners (SEBERG,2019) Joe Schrapnel and Anna Waterhouse collaborated with Stone to adapt the novel into a movie that looks great, and for the most part, fulfills the above listed requirements.

Keira Knightly stars as Laura Blacklock, an award-winning journalist who has been through a recent traumatic experience while on the job. Her editor (an underutilized Gugu Mbatha-Raw, BELLE, 2013) tries to convince Laura to take some time off. Instead, she accepts an invitation from billionaire Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce) to join his gaggle of rich friends aboard a 3-day cruise on his ultra-luxury yacht. The purpose is to fundraise for cancer treatments as a tribute to his wife Ann, recently stricken with the dreaded disease.

The guest list includes the very rich and famous, and Laura's job is to cover the 'charitable' event. You'll likely notice pretty quickly that, just like in real life, movie billionaires are difficult to relate to and easy to dislike. Some are outright obnoxious like Adam (Daniel Ings, "The Gentlemen") and Heidi (Hannah Waddingham, "Ted Lasso"), while others are just a bit too creepy, such as Dr. Mehta (Art Malik) and the host, Bullmer. There's also rock star Danny Tyler (Paul Kay, "After Life"), a former party animal who has cleaned up his life and is intent on avoiding trouble and bad publicity.

Coincidentally (or not), Bullmer has hired Laura's ex-boyfriend Ben (David Ajala, "Star Trek: Discovery") as the official photographer for the cruise. Things are going awkwardly fine until the middle of the first night when Laura is awakened by a scuffle next door that results in someone going overboard. The conspiracy is in full mode once all passengers are accounted for and Laura is positioned as a bit unstable, given her insistence that she heard and saw someone go in the water. A couple of other interesting supporting roles are covered by Gitte Witt and Kaya Scodelario ("The Gentlemen"), neither of which belong to the rich group.

The rest of the movie comes down to Laura trying to solve this mystery, while certain forces are preventing her from doing so. It's a tale as old as time, and a common cliché - follow the money until you have your answer, and don't trust the filthy rich folks. There's another theme here that I found even more interesting, and that's the frustration and panic that Laura feels when no one believes her story. It's such a tough challenge. Her struggle and tenacity is what makes the film work. It's highly likely that the novel plays even better than the screen version, as some of what happens here seems unlikely in a real-world event. Still, there is entertainment value in trying to stay ahead of the curve.

Releasing globally on Netflix on October 10, 2025.