The setup for the aquatic Breaking Surface sounds familiar; two sisters on a diving excursion find themselves facing a grueling race against the clock when one of them becomes trapped on the ocean floor. Instead of sharks and a required suspension of belief, writer/director Joachim Hedén opts for realism and ingenious situations, creating one of the most intense and propulsive survival thrillers in recent memory.
Sisters Tuva (Madeleine Martin) and Ida (Moa Gammel) are lifelong divers, which means they’re no strangers to danger. Tuva, who turned diving into a career, survived multiple brushes with death underwater. Her more reserved sister, Ida, is less daring and settled down to create her own family. She agrees to a diving excursion with Tuva to explore a Norwegian fjord just days after Christmas with her marriage on the rocks. The isolated setting proves a significant obstacle when a rockslide leaves Tuva trapped below, pinned under rubble, and Ida without a path to seek aid. Depleting oxygen, extreme pressure, and freezing temps are only some of the problems the sisters will have to overcome if they hope to make it out alive.
It’s clear straightaway that Hedén aims for a more realistic portrayal of diving, heightening the stakes and suspense. Malfunctioning equipment, rips in suits in such icy waters, and the potential for the bends are all very authentic scenarios these women can face. To keep things moving along at rapid speed, and visually impressive, it’s on the less experienced Ida to figure out a way to free her pinned sister. In true survival thriller fashion, anything that can go wrong will go wrong, but the inventive scenarios never feel implausible or out of place. Ida, an intelligent but emotionally vulnerable woman, falls prey to panic and desperation, but never at the expense of rooting interest. She makes tough choices that make sense and forgivable mistakes in line with the dire circumstances. With Tuva as a guide, Ida’s forced to become a take-charge heroine.
The Norwegian setting is breathtaking, adding rich production value. Perhaps more importantly, it furthers the authenticity of this distressing narrative. The gorgeous cinematography by Eric Börjeson for underwater sequences keeps the action crystal clear. The serene depths mask the dangers, and that translates well on screen.
Clocking in at around 90-minutes, Breaking Surface makes for a non-stop, unrelentingly intense thriller that never struggles to find new ways to prolong the answer to whether these sisters will make it out alive. It’s lean, simple, and focused solely on the survival component, but Ida’s family drama doesn’t contribute much to the story at all. It’s an unnecessary way of upping the emotional stakes and fleshing out her character. By the end, it’s all but forgotten. That’s for the best, because Breaking Surface doesn’t need anything more beyond these two capable sisters fighting to live, and that’s where it excels. Hedén’s approach to realism heightens a slickly produced aquatic thriller that goes for the jugular in intensity. The filmmaker demonstrates that mother nature doesn’t need sharks or aquatic beasties to kill you; it can knock you out in several ways with alarming ease.
Breaking Surface made its US Premiere at the Nightstream Film Festival.
