Directed by Simon Stone — Screenplay by Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse, and Simon Stone.
The generically titled The Woman in Cabin 10 — not to be confused with The Woman in the Window, The Woman in the Yard, The Woman in Black, The Woman in the Wall, or The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window — is the latest feature from The Dig director Simon Stone. The film, which is based on Ruth Ware’s novel of the same name, is designed as a whodunnit psychological thriller, and it follows a journalist (Laura Blacklock, played by Keira Knightley) on a billionaire’s luxury yacht, who believes she has witnessed a passenger being thrown overboard and possibly killed. However, when she brings this up to anyone on the ship, no one seems to believe her. As our protagonist starts questioning her sanity, she also starts to uncover clues.
On paper, there is, admittedly, a lot to like about The Woman in Cabin 10. For one, it has a brilliant cast. In addition to Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean), the film also features Guy Pearce (Memento), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Black Mirror: San Junipero), Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), and Amanda Collin (The Promised Land), all of whom I always enjoy seeing pop up in projects. The film also looks great and was shot by BAFTA-nominated cinematographer Ben Davis. But, as the saying goes in sports, matches aren’t won on paper, and the same goes for films.
In execution, there are a lot of things that just aren’t elegantly done here, just as there are elements in the narrative that made me scratch my head in frustration. For one, the entire premise, with this high-level and highly regarded journalist being invited to this puff piece luxury yacht charity story, just doesn’t make sense from an assignment standpoint, nor does it make sense that anyone involved would want her there, especially given what may or may not have happened on board. Even if you can ignore those leaps in logic, the film never comes close to touching on the ethical issues inherent in the protagonist’s motivations for taking the assignment.
Then there’s the obviousness of everything. I was able to predict pretty much every major beat that transpired in the film. I found myself a step ahead of the film more often than not, which isn’t ideal for this subgenre of films. Add to that the climax’s over-the-top elements (e.g., knife at throat, personal assistants with a hunting rifle looking for a clear shot) and the paper-thin characters, and what you’re left with is a nice-looking and well-cast but extremely predictable and underwhelming B-movie whodunnit. Hopefully, the people involved with this can bounce back quickly, because I thought this was a major disappointment.
4.5 out of 10
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 