''Dead in the Water'' is a 2002

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

/ thriller

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

written and directed by

Gustavo Lipsztein Gustavo is the Latinate form of a Germanic male given name with respective prevalence in Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, and Italian language, Italian. It has been a common name for Swedish monarchs since the reign of Gu ...

Plot

Gloria (

Dominique Swain Dominique Swain (born August 12, 1980) is an American actress and producer. She came to prominence playing the title character in Adrian Lyne's 1997 film adaptation of ''Lolita'', alongside her supporting role as Jamie Archer in John Woo's ''Fac ...

) is the spoiled daughter of a Brazilian businessman who is bankrupt. Her father asks her to take Marcos (

Sebastian DeVicente Sebastian DeVicente is a trilingual actor (English, Spanish, Portuguese) mostly known for playing bad boys and off-beat characters. Some of his film credits include ''The City of Lost Souls'' (2000), a Japanese film directed by cinematic master ...

), the son of her father's business partner, out for a swim in the ocean. She does so, using her father's yacht and accompanied by her boyfriend Danny (

Scott Bairstow Scott Hamilton Bairstow (born April 23, 1970) is a Canadian former actor known for his roles as Newt Call on the syndicated western television drama '' Lonesome Dove: The Series'' and as Ned Grayson on the American television drama series ''Party ...

) and their buddy Jeffrey (

Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...

). Gloria is caught kissing Marcos. Danny is jealous and throws Marcos in the water with a life preserver. To scare Marcos, he then drives the boat to a distant island. When they return to where they left him, Marcos has disappeared. Afraid of the consequences of his possible drowning, they discuss alibis and try to figure a way out of their predicament, first destroying their relationships and then themselves.

Partial cast

as Jeff *

as Gloria *

as Danny *

as Marcos *

José Wilker José Wilker Almeida (20 August 1944 – 5 April 2014) was a Brazilian film, stage, and television actor and director. The actor gained fame in telenovelas like ''Roque Santeiro'' (1985), but became known internationally for his role as Vadinho, ...

as Father *

Renata Fronzi Renata Mirra Ana Maria Fronzi (August 1, 1925 – April 15, 2008) was an Argentine-born Brazilian television and film actress. She was well known for her role as the character, Helena, in the Brazilian television show, '' Família Trapo''. '' ...

as Housekeeper *

Lavínia Vlasak Lavínia Gutmann Vlasak (born 14 June 1976) is a Brazilian actress and former model. Biography Vlasak was born in Rio de Janeiro, daughter of Chief Financial Officer Robert Vlasak and homemaker Eugênia Gutmann. The surname Vlasak is of Czech ...

as Brazilian Beauty

Production

The film is a remake of the 1962

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

film '' Nóz w wodzie'', and like the Polanski original, was shot on locations in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Casting was announced in 2000.

Reception

David Nusair wrote that the film was "fairly predictable, but mostly entertaining," and offered that "the performances are fine". Kevin LaForest felt that the film had the potential to be an enjoyable thriller, but that it was lacking in depth and originality, concluding that it was "too stiff and self-important."

Christopher Null Christopher Null is an American writer, film critic, and columnist. A former blogger for Yahoo! Tech, he was the editor of Drinkhacker.com, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Filmcritic.com, which operated from 1995 to 2012. In 2003, CNN cal ...

of ''

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Filmcritic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

'' felt that was well-made and reasonably well-acted, but that its staging being confined to the yacht for 90 minutes became a little tiresome, summarizing "Not a bad time, but not a great movie. It hits and misses, but at least it floats." Buzz McClain of ''

All Movie Guide AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

'' wrote that the director's nontraditional style might not work for everyone, especially in consideration of Dominique Swain's performance, but added that there was no question that the film's conclusion will generate conversation and introspection for those who understand it.

Awards and nominations

The film won "Best Cinematography", "Best Director", and received the Grand Jury Prize for "Best Feature Film" at the 2002 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0235333 2002 films 2002 crime thriller films Films set in Rio de Janeiro (city) Films shot in Rio de Janeiro (city) Films scored by Heitor Pereira American crime thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language crime thriller films