Posted by Northcoast_diver on August 15, 2004 at 14:06:55:
I took in a matinee today, since the ocean winds have been blowing fairly roughly the past couple of days up here.
OPEN WATER turned out to be an excellent matinee.
It seems to me the script was well researched, and probably came from a combination of the Florida couple who were left behind by their dive boat a few years ago, and another couple who were lost in Fiji a couple of years back.
The cinematography was superb, with lots of good underwater shots, island life, and a very well endowned beauty on vacation with her hubby as well.
The plot traces the path taken by the human psychie when it finds itself in potentially lethal circumstances. The disbelief phase, the blaming phase, fighting phase, the breakdown phase, then finally the acceptance of fate.
There are lessons to be learned by every certified diver from this film, and so I would highly recommend it to everyone who scuba dives. The movie traces a stream of common mistakes, which when taken together as a whole, add up to deadly consequences. Normally you would associate that notion with technical mixed gas diving, however the movie makes a strong case that ordinary recreational air divers need to think in advance as well.
About once every year or so, somewhere in the world, somebody gets left behind by a dive boat. There are steps you can take to prevent this from happening to you. Watching the movie is a good Step #1.
While I was watching the credits after the film, I thought I noticed the name of a very well known Southern California diving consultant. Anybody want to confess?