A tale of high suspense, set in the claustrophobic confines of a mega-yacht, The Boat is an Italian import from Alessandro Liguori. Three high-powered, wealthy couples head off to have a birthday party on a mega-yacht owned by Flavio (Filippo Nigro) and Elena (Diane Fieri). They are joined by Enrico (Marco Bocci) and Martina (Katsiaryna Shulha), as well as Federico (Alessandro Tiberi) and Claudia (Marina Rocco). The festivities are joyous until they all wake up the next morning and discover their boat was unmoored. The first revelation: they’re floating deep in the Mediterranean, nowhere near land.
Eventually, they receive contact from Emilio (Eduardo Valdarnini). He demands recompense of 80,000 euros. He further demands that one of the party join him on his boat, not far away. Enrico attempts to swim out to the boat and fails. Eventually, Flavio makes it out there. Confronted by Emilio and his cause, Flavio is forced to make a horrible choice and reveal, through a DVD, a bad thing he did. The punishments are meted out directly from there. Apparently, some of the guests were complicit in a hit-and-run, which destroyed Emilio’s family. Flavio was the attorney who got the guilty parties off the hook. Clearly, Emilio has a massive axe to grind, so to speak. Over the course of the taut 90 minutes, grind it he will.
The Boat is a wonderful movie. There is much to be said concerning the claustrophobic environment. The titular object does not permit many escapes. You are forced to confront bad things head-on in the confines of a yacht of any size. There’s simply nowhere to hide. Liguori and his team do an excellent job ramping up the sense of dread and panic. The rich and powerful are rarely forced to experience consequences for their actions. Here, it’s brutal and direct. Every bad act and decision is repaid. It’s so rare to experience a film where no one makes it out alive, but this is a glorious example of that. At once, that revelation tells you what to expect, but not how to expect it.
“Confronted by Emilio and his cause, Flavio is forced to make a horrible choice…”
I love the action scenes, which are fast and deadly. Again, there’s nowhere to flee except the ocean. And as will be demonstrated, there’s only so far a human can swim before drowning. Every kill and death is earned. It would be remiss of me to spoil how people die. So, alas, I shall not do that, dear reader. Instead, I will assure you that by the end, the Hitchcock standard for revenge movies is met.
The Boat is a magnificent effort of discipline and restraint. Stuck on a boat, deep in the Mediterranean, these rich monsters must confront their true selves. Gentle reader, it’s glorious to behold the cultural shortcomings of the rich and powerful. At one point, for example, Emilio attempts to discuss the plot of Crime and Punishment with Enrico. Enrico has utterly failed to grasp the essence of Dostoevsky’s work. The book illustrates how one can redeem oneself by accepting one’s punishment.
If you are a fan of suspense, The Boat is for you. Seek it out wherever you can, as it is a great and shocking film. That a wealthy man cannot grasp that simple truth highlights the idea F. Scott Fitzgerald once forwarded, “The rich are very different from you and me.” While he meant to highlight their virtues, this wild thriller has come along to demonstrate their massive flaws.
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"…great and shocking..."
