SUBMERGENCE is a film with an impeccable pedigree and the intellectual reach of its creators shines in the complexity of the film’s multi-layered storytelling. The romantic story is a modern tale of sudden love and the tyranny of distance even in an age of communication overload. As much political thriller as individual story, SUBMERGED delves into belief and political will as motivation for cruelty, nationalism and for survival.
Danielle Flinders is a bio-mathematician working on a deep sea diving project who meets James More as they are both staying at a Normandy hotel. Each is preparing for danger as James works for the British Secret Service and is heading to Somalia and Danny will be soon be travelling into the pitch dark in an ocean submersible. When they fall in love, the acknowledgement makes parting easier. However, James is taken hostage by Jihadist fighters and communication ceases.
These are people doing important work and the lovers each have agency yet the film does little to suggest a powerlessness in the face of overwhelming love. James McAvoy’s spy is stoic and driven in his professional life but when he meets Alicia Vikander’s Danny he is winning and charming in the face of her implacability. Danny is equally driven, seeing echoes of her deep-sea work in the littoral rocks, yet confronted by her desire for more than a one-night encounter with James. Perhaps this is why the love story struggles to ignite. Too professional, competent and individual, the characters are propelled by forces of their own choosing rather than the romantic passion. Their coming together is so briefly expressed that it is their loss of each other which contributes most to the story, in scenes which touch the viewer with intellect rather than emotion.
The story, however, does sustain in the political aspects as Director Wim Wenders brings a realistic, understandable and illuminating expression to both James’ geo-political imprisonment and politics of Danny’s academic exploration. The screenplay is by Erin Dignam based on the much lauded novel by J.M. Ledgard who was a journalist who covered society and politics across Africa for The Economist magazine.
Without being gratuitous, the Somali Jihad has a density and imminent threat interwoven with an exploration of belief, both in James and in his captors. There are conversations and sharing in the film that provoke intense consideration of credence and of actions motivated by belief in the divine justice of a cause.
Equally effective is the work being done underwater in Danni’s investigation of microbial life of bacteria, viruses and algae at very deep levels. Primordial work that touches the beginnings of humankind. The film uses several filmic devices to bring home these themes. Recorded bio-mathematical audio, visuals expressing the darkness and business of the oceans deep layers.
As filmed by Benoît Debie, SUBMERGENCE is warm with amber light and dark for the meeting scenes, glared and light for the Somali locations and dark, moody and teeming for the underwater scenes. And the beauty of the two stars is lovingly portrayed in the Normandy scenes. There is also a haunting soundtrack by Fernando Velázquez which takes time to breathe and develop the tension and mystery in the early scenes.
SUBMERGENCE has the depth of ideas to keep an audience watching as it explicates the minutiae and implications of the protagonists’ lives. And after such a richly developed dialectic, the film’s finale washes one over with hope.
SUBMERGENCE opens in Australian cinemas 16th August and thanks to The Backlot Films [Facebook] we have in-season double passes to giveaway here. You can view the Trailer on YouTube.
