Submergence (2018)

Submergence (2017 or 2018, depending on the source). This is one of those movies I added to my queue after watching Paris, Texas. It is another Win Wenders directed film and my motiviation in selecting this was to jump further into his filmography and see if I could perhaps understand why Wenders isn't more popular or known today, like Werner Werzog. I can't say that I have answered that question in watching just one more of his films. As with other Wenders films, this is beautifully shot (How has Wenders not even been tapped as just a cinematographer in more widely known circles), though it doesnt have as many portrait-esque shots as other Wenders films. The way the actors are framed throughout the film really keeps much of the focus on them, and yet you still want to explore the world they are in. The hotel they stay in early in the movie looks amazing and I would love to stay in such a place. The movie is based on a book by J.M Ledgard that I am not familiar with. The screenplay was written by Erin Dignam, writer and director of Denial (1990) starring Robin Wright. Dignam would again work with Wright and wrote the screenplay for 2021's Land, which Wright directed and stars in. The movie also has great filming locations, many of which are recognizable from other movies. It shares at least two connections to Zero Dark Thirty (2012) with some locations and in the actor Reda Kateb (Saif). Back to Submergence. The movie stars James McAvoy (James More) and Alecia Vikander (Danielle Flinders). You really don't need to know a lot about the rest of the cast as the story really just revolves around these two (sound at all familiar to other Wenders films?). I don't want to say to much about the plot as I don't want to spoil it for anyone else who reads this and chooses to watch the movie. Suffice to say that James and Danielle meet on vacation. Their entanglement continues. There's drama and resistance, there's also ecstacy and joy. Then the movie takes a twist. It also doesn't limit itself to just one twist, rather there's quite a few. Some of the late twists are really meant to leave one feeling a bit reeling. And that is when the movie hits what some may view as it's biggest flaw, the ending. The movie has relatively low IMDB rating of 5.4 stars and a metacritic score of 38. It seems as though you either love this or find it really middling. Those who like it though seem to really like it. John Defore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "...the most roundly satisfying fiction feature Wenders has made since, well, that first one about the angel so in love he gives up immortality." I can't say that I disagree with Defore. Unfortunately, one of the lasting thoughts for me about this film is that I can't help but wonder how much better this film could have been if it had been cast just slightly differently. I can't shake a desire to Emily Blunt in Vikander's role. Vikander is lovely, and plays the role fairly well. My main critique of her is that I didn't buy the chemistry throughout the entirety of the movie. Vikander is a talented actress with many other credits to her name and who acts much of this film quite amazingly. And yet... For me, parts of this felt like poetry. Prose or something. It really comes down to that relationship and the way that light and dark is woven through the movie and interwoven with various ways a person could be submerged in something. It works for me, but I can see how others might not love it. 7 out of 10 stars from me.