Maelstrom

2000 talking fish movie

Rating: 15/20

Plot: A talking fish uses his dying moments to share a story about a troubled woman.

Water, water everywhere. Water is all over this one, from the title to the narrating animatronic fish to the showers to the love interest who is a diver to the stale octopus to a vehicle being submerged to the other shower scene. This was Denis Villeneuve's second feature-length film, and it has a little trouble deciding just how fragmented it wants to be. The talking fish, one that almost shares the meaning of life with us, and the various stories that weave into one big story give this the flavor of a murky fairy tale. The pieces might not come together realistically, but most murky fairy tales don't, do they?

I really liked the lead, Marie-Josee Croze. And not just the shower scenes!

More water--the use of Tom Waits' "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me Today." Maybe it was a little too obvious, but I'm never going to complain about hearing Tom Waits in a movie.