«Horizon Line» - Movie Review by Kinoafisha
An Unrealistic Survival Thriller.
Despite spending a whole year on a tropical island, Sarah realizes that her career is more important than a blissful life with Jackson. She leaves without saying goodbye, leaving behind unfinished business and an unfinished bottle of beer. Some time later, Sarah returns to the island for her friend's wedding, where she'll inevitably have to face her ex-lover. Awkward encounters lead to both characters being late to the celebration. They board a private plane with an old acquaintance, but soon enough the pilot dies from a heart attack, leaving Sarah and Jackson completely alone over the ocean.
At first, the story may seem like an ordinary romantic flick, a so-called feel-good movie, with the scorching sun and cute cocktails from the bar. Sarah often talks about how these landscapes are her dream place, but for some reason, she never considers permanently moving there. People can fantasize for years about waking up with an ocean view, but they often can't give up their morning cup of strong coffee on the way to the office in a busy metropolis. It's obvious that only work keeps Sarah in London, while here on the island, every passerby is her kind acquaintance, ready to help when needed. In any case, it's quite difficult to understand the motivation of our heroine: is she driven by fear of a happy life or an incredible urge for self-realization in a big city? As for Jackson, the audience knows even less about him, making him a rather dull lover for Sarah. Due to such shortcomings, we are presented with undeveloped and even uninteresting characters. It seems like these small details are not relevant to a thriller, as the film is primarily about the impending challenges above land, not the feelings of two undecided people. Nevertheless, these characters are the only ones who will accompany us from beginning to end. They are the central part of the story, and if the former lovers don't spark much interest, the plot might plummet like a plane without a professional pilot.
As expected in thrillers, tranquility ends as soon as the characters board the plane. "Horizon Line" follows all the familiar patterns of such stories: every minute, the protagonists face a new misfortune. Sarah and Jackson desperately cling to any opportunity to survive and reach land, but some of their methods go beyond realism. For instance, their flight through thunder clouds looks like they're simply clearing a level in a video game, and Sarah's ability to hold on to the wing of a flying plane for so long could make comic book superheroes envious.
However, no matter how surprised the audience may be by the lack of realism in the story, the film constantly keeps them on edge. Sometimes, there's no time to think about their fantastic decisions as a new danger awaits in an instant. The last twenty minutes become truly gripping, making us genuinely concerned about the characters' lives.
It's quite possible that the screenwriters had several options for how to conclude their thriller. At least, some plot twists could have drastically altered the ending if the creators had decided to develop them properly.
"Horizon Line" isn't a groundbreaking or original thriller, but Swedish director Mikael Marcimain manages to maintain suspense until the final minutes of the film, which is arguably the main goal of such movies. Fans of extreme survival stories, where the battle with nature goes hand in hand with life-changing decisions, will definitely enjoy this film.
