DUBAI: Some predict that advances in AI filmmaking will eventually lead to actors licensing their image and old performances for use in movies that they won’t — in reality — be acting in. The argument against that is that such movies will lack the human connection of actors in the same physical space reacting to each other’s deliveries and sparking that indefinable chemistry that marks the great films.
That argument is deflated somewhat by Netflix’s thriller “The Woman in Cabin 10,” in which a starry cast, led by Keira Knightley and including Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddingham, deliver performances that, despite them presumably being in the same physical space, lack any notable chemistry or conviction.
Knightley plays Laura “Lo” Blacklock, an investigative reporter who works for The Guardian (shorthand for ethical, quality journalist or elitist liberal snowflake, depending where you fall on the Trump-o-meter), currently traumatized by having witnessed the murder of one of her sources. She needs to decompress, and an invitation to cover the maiden voyage of a luxury superyacht — owned by Norwegian billionaire Anne Bullmer and her husband Richard — seems like an ideal opportunity. Anne is dying of lukemia and the yacht will be taking a handful of other billionaires to her final fundraising gala. Oh, and the photographer on the trip is Lo’s ex-boyfriend, Ben.
On the first day, Lo tries to evade Ben by ducking into Cabin 10 — next door to her own cabin — when she spots him in the hallway. There she encounters a blonde woman. Lo apologizes and leaves. That night, having learned that Anne intends to give away her entire fortune to charity, Lo hears shouting from next door. On her balcony, she discovers a bloody handprint on the other side of the glass wall and sees someone in the water. She quickly alerts security. But she’s told there is no guest in Cabin 10 and that all passengers are accounted for. By the time she gets back to her room, the handprint has disappeared. Lo’s credibility — given her recent shock — is called into question. Can she find out the truth?
Yes, the script is thin on character-building (so some slack should be cut for the cast), but the plot is packed with cunning twists and smart solutions, making the story (adapted from Ruth Wade’s 2016 novel) a lot of fun. “The Woman in Cabin 10” should have been so much better.
