The Surface
The Surface
| 09 October 2014 (USA)
The Surface Trailers

Two strangers, both at the end of their rope, suddenly meet in the middle of the unpredictable waters of Lake Michigan.

Reviews
Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Majorthebys Charming and brutal
SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
statia13 The story line had the potential to be a great action and adventure movie. That's what I thought I was buying, but it turned out to be a little too Hemmingway-esque for me. Two strangers stuck on a sinking boat for hours, perused by the enemy, however, that wasn't a big concern in this film. This was more of a character study. Each man telling his story. It so reminded me of the boring Hemingway books that I was forced to read in high school lit. (Not a fan) I can't recommend this movie. It was just another disappointment in today's movie repertoire. I can't even say anything about it, because it was so shallow. Perhaps I missed something.
The Couchpotatoes I read about the story before watching the movie. It reminded me a movie I really liked, Against The Sun, about three soldiers trying to survive on a lifeboat after their bombardier crashed into the ocean. So I gave The Surface a shot. And what a disappointed that became. It's a really awful movie. The two main characters played by Sean Astin and Chris Mulkey have pointless and boring conversations on a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan. The acting is also pretty bad. Sean Astin looks like an actor from a B-movie and Chris Mulkey sometimes just mumbles something that is very hard to understand. Their endless boring conversations about their pathetic life will bore you to death. I could not wait for this movie to end and so to put an end to my misery. Avoid this movie at all cost and watch Against The Sun instead if you want to watch something similar but then with a good story.
zob95 I normally love survival and man vs. nature films. I think you can break down events in these kinds of movies into several categories:*Man vs. Craft - Troubles with the mode of transportation (a small boat in this case) *Man vs. Nature - Troubles with weather, predators, etc. *Man vs. Man - Troubles with the other survivors *Man vs. Potential Rescuers - Often not seen by potential rescuers or they can be hostileThis movie offered up very few interactions within these categories, settling instead for some average dialog.Another big problem is that the movie failed to make you care about the characters enough to really root for their survival. Also the dialog between the two suddenly became more intimate and personal with no transition to ease the viewer along.The dialog between the two characters covered some decent ground but was not well-written. The characters will not built out enough for you to sympathize or even fully understand their issues soon enough to cement your interest in their survival.It's a shame because survival movies are generally a good watch.Reasonably well filmed.Read some Jack London to experience the genre at its peak.
markglazer This is an important story to watch...very moving. Sadness and loneliness and depression are everyday issues in our society, and we should learn from this movie and try to better ourselves in our everyday real life.This movie leads to great discussion points, and challenges us to react, think, and do better.A very moving introspective story.The Surface just tease us to get to the surface of very important emotional issues that are everyday. The lead characters, including Sean do a great acting job here and should be complemented in telling this sad story!