By Susan Granger
Ruth Ware’s 2016 thriller “The Woman in Cabin 10” was an instant New York Times best-seller, boasting a simple synopsis about “a journalist on a luxury yacht who sees a passenger thrown overboard, only to be told that it didn’t happen, as all the passengers and crew are accounted for. Despite no one believing her, she continues to look for answers, putting her own life in danger.”
That’s a classic, sinister Whodunit combined with a Howdunit and a Whydunit – which is why it’s a shame that screenwriter/director Simon Stone, co-scripting with Emma Frost, Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse, botched it so badly.
Ware’s heroine was supposed to be a London travel writer, which is why it made sense to have her aboard a massive luxury yacht. But – in Stone’s movie – Laura ‘Lo’ Blacklock (Kiera Knightley) is an intrepid reporter assigned to write a ‘puff piece’ about a gala celebrating the formation of a new cancer research foundation: “It’s a human interest piece for inhumane times.”
Hosting the three-day voyage to Norway are terminally ill shipping heiress Anne Lyngstad (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and her husband Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce).
The first night, Lo is awakened by mysterious noises emanating from the adjacent Cabin 10 and – from her balcony – she sees a woman tossed into the sea. Who is she? What precipitated that scuffle? And why is someone now threatening Lo?
No one knows. Not Lo’s former lover/photographer Ben (David Ajala), ‘drugged-up rock star’ Danny (Paul Kaye),’influencer’ Grace (Kaya Scodelario), ‘tech titan’ Lars (Christopher Rygh), ‘playboy’ Adam (Daniel Ings), ‘security boss’ Sigrid (Amanda Collin), Anne’s physician Dr. Mehta (Art Malik), snarky Dame Heidi (Hannah Waddingham) nor her pompous husband Thomas (David Morrissey).
Is Lo paranoid? Or is she being gaslit? And since all of the awkwardly underwritten characters are cheesy caricatures, why should we care?
FYI: Filmed in Portland Harbour in Dorset, England, on the spectacular $150 million superyacht Savannah owned by the late Swedish-Canadian businessman Lukas Lundin.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Woman in Cabin 10” is a silly, soggy 4, streaming on Netflix.
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Susan Granger
Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.
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