Sea of temptation - the mystery of the film

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 17:37

If you thought that this was a picture about passion, jealousy and crime, we hasten to upset you. Contrary to the 2018 trailer and some reviews, Sea of Temptation (2019) is a new film masterpiece featuring popular actors about an alternative reality (release date - January 24). What is a boy capable of meeting his father, who died in Iraq, at least once in his life? How to behave when a tyrant stepfather lives behind the wall? All that remains is to close in yourself, creating an alternative world of the game on the computer, where you can control the process. But first things first…

Film crew and character creation "Serenity"

The thriller was directed and written by Stephen Knight, who is an OSCAR nominee for his debut screenplay for the film Dirty Delights and is known for such film masterpieces as the thriller The Hummingbird Effect and Locke 2013, Vice for Export 2007, "The Girl Who Was Trapped in the Web" 2018, "Allies" 2016, "Spices and Passions" 2014, the drama "Sacrificing a Pawn" 2014, the fantasy "The Seventh Son" 2014, and the series in the crime genre "Peaky Blinders" 2014.

According to him, "Sea of Temptation" is not a classic crime noir thriller, here the viewer will find references to classical literature and cinema.

“When it comes to dialogue, scenery and general atmosphere, I was inspired by the works of Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene, it's obvious. There are also some references to movie classics from the 1940s and 1950s."

The operator of the film was Jess Hall (biopic "Stander", the comedy "Kinda Tough Guys", "Son of Rimbaud", the historical film "Origins", the melodrama "More than a Friend", the comedy action film "Catch in 30 Minutes", the anime "Ghost in armor”, the technogenic thriller“Excellence”and others), which was nominated in 2008 for the Satellite Award for the film“Return to Brideshead”, and in 2010 - became a member of the British Community of Cinematographers.

Usually, when starting work on a painting, Hall studied the visual solutions found by his colleagues in the workshop in other projects, and, rethinking this experience, created something new. But with the thriller Sea of Temptation (2019), everything was completely different, as the filmmaker later admitted.

“It's interesting that I visualized all the scenes of this film almost immediately, with a lot of visual scenes. Perhaps it's all about Knight's special script, unique plot and the original world he created. In the process, I was inspired by the work of Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene. Especially the book "Islands in the Ocean", which I read many years ago, but before filming I returned to it again."

It is also worth mentioning such members of the film crew as:

• designer Danny Glickman (when designing costumes for characters of the film, so different in temperament, he was inspired by classic film noir with the participation of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, transferring this atmosphere to the aesthetics of the modern world);
• Producer Guy Healy (Play Like Beckham, Denial, Iron Lady, The Hummingbird Effect, Mystery, Getaway);
• producer Greg Shapiro (The Rum Diary, Detroit, Fatal Passion, Harold and Kumar, The Conspirator);
• as well as executive producer Carsten Lorenz, co-producer Andreas Habermeier, production designer Andrew McAlpine, chief make-up artist Felicity Bowring, costume designer Denny Glickman, editor Laura Jennings.

The roles in the mysterious thriller Sea of Temptation in 2019 were performed by:

• Matthew McConaughey (Beach Bum 2019, Dark Tower 2017, Vice 2001, Interstellar 2014, crime drama The Wolf of Wall Street 2013, biographical drama Dallas Buyers Club 2013, Contact 1997, Sahara 2005, etc.);
• Ann Hataway (Dirty Scammers 2019, The Last Thing He Wanted 2019, Les Miserables 2012, Once Upon a Time in New York 2014, The Dark Knight Rises 2012, The Devil Wears Prada 2006, Bride Wars 2009, Alice Through the Looking Glass 2010, Interstellar 2014, Crazy 2005, Ocean's 8 2018, etc.);
• Diane Lane (House of Cards 2018, Puzzle 2015, Tully 2017, Paris Can Wait 2016, The Romanovs 2018, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016);
• Djimon Hounsou (The Seventh Son 2014, Charlie's Angels 2019, Tarzan Legend 2016, Guardians of the Galaxy 2014, Aquaman 2018, Captain Marvel 2019, etc.);
• Jason Clarke (Pet Sematary 2019, Aftermath 2019, Everest 2015, Johnny D. 2009 The Great Gatsby 2013, Storming the White House 2013, Man on the Moon 2018, Catherine the Great TV series 2019).

Mysterious plot and unexpected denouement

All around our guesses, and even the wave that beat on the shore.

The stubborn sailor Baker Dill lives on a sunny island in the town of Plymouth, his only income is fishing with tourists on the Serenity yacht.

One day, he refuses to hand over the rod to clients who paid $ 700 for the opportunity to fish, and threatens them with a knife, thinking that he has again caught "the same" giant tuna. He got hooked by Dill only 4 times, but then escaped, swimming back into the sea. The protagonist even gave him a name - "Justice".

Dill's partner and his only friend Duke (Djimon Hounsou) is trying to settle the situation, it seems that this is not the first for him. He worries about the morale of his comrade, and others in the city even think that Baker Dill is mad and crazy.

From time to time, the main character sees strange dreams with his little son and even talks to him on lonely evenings in his imagination. And, as the viewer understands later, for a reason …

And after all, we know very little about Dill's past, even nothing at all. Suddenly, the ghosts of the past overtake him in a local bar in the form of ex-wife Karen (Anne Hathaway). She greets and calls him by the name John, which he replaced many years ago in the hope of starting a new life. Karen is desperate, she offers Dill a strange deal - to kill his current tyrant husband Frank in exchange for a huge amount of money in order to save her son Patrick, her son with Dill, from the horror and scandals that repeat at home every day.

From this moment, the agony of the protagonist's choice begins - to save his son from the nightmare or leave everything as it is, not to deprive a person, albeit a scoundrel, of life. But after all, Frank is so easy to feed to sharks - he himself goes into a trap, ordering a fishing excursion from Baker Dill.

At first it seems that this is a fascinating film about a "mad" fisherman and his adventures on the high seas, as well as the choice - to kill a man or remain indifferent. But everything is not as it seems …

Is Plymouth a real place or a fictional place?

Everything we know about the town of Plymouth can be heard on the local radio, a voice from which every morning exclaims: “You can hear us not only here, but also on boats in the ocean. Another wonderful morning on the most beautiful island in this filthy world! Sugarcane scent in the air - just the perfect day to go out to sea and catch a giant fish!"

The hero suddenly learns that his fate is a foregone conclusion, and each step is spelled out in advance. But by whom? The creator of a computer game, inside of which the town of Plymouth is located, which is not on any geographical map. The fact that the creator of the game is Dill's son Patrick becomes clear towards the end, especially thanks to the mysterious names and names that give the viewer a tip - for example, the second name of Reid Miller "The Rule" or the nickname of the uncaught tuna "Justice".

The game called Plymouth includes several more mini-games with levels:

1. "Catch the Cat" - Dill was always catching the cat of his friend Constance;
2. "Count the fish" - every time after going out to sea, the number of fish was noted in a notebook;
3. "Tuna fishing" - that very elusive giant;
4. Kill a Man is a new game with Frank and Karen.

But there is only one rule on the island - no one should die. So why did the creator decide to change this rule? Is it really in your interests …

Indeed, in fact, Baker Dill is Captain John Mason, who died in the Iraq war in battle in 2006, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Courage.

And to kill his stepfather Frank, in fact, an ordinary construction worker and drunkard, and not at all a millionaire mafioso, Patrick himself dreamed for many years.

And the final scene will leave few people indifferent: “-I did a terrible thing. I changed the game so I can visit you. -I will always be there, come to me. We'll meet at Serenity, come and I'll be waiting for you at the pier."

Below you can watch the trailer in Russian for the film "Sea of Temptation", released back in 2018, on January 24, 2019, the thriller was shown on Russian screens.