MARY (Film Review)

                                       Starring: Gary Oldman, Emily Mortimer, Jennifer Esposito

                                          Directed by: Michael Goi

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     You know, living so close to the water my whole life I've always regretted never buying a boat - sure they're expensive to own and maintain, and there's a different set of rules when your cruising the H2O...and of course there's the whole "haunted vessel" thing going on - yeah, you know what? I think I'll just keep my land-lubbin' butt on dry ground - unfortunately for director Michael Goi's maritime-chiller Mary, that's exactly where it should have stayed as well - in dry dock.

  Starring quite possibly one of the strongest and most talented actors of my generation, Mr. Gary Oldman - he plays fishing tour organizer David, and to say that he's languishing at his job is an understatement. He's doing his damnedest to provide for his small family, and he's ready to purchase a boat of his own, where his travels lead him to The Mary, a beat-down old barge but one that's definitely caught his eye. After some much needed coercing, his wife (Mortimer) gives him the okay, and when the restoration's complete, The Mary is ready for the big blue. However, something is keeping this ocean-cruiser from fully stretching its legs - almost as if it's got a little "dead weight" attached (bad pun intended), and suddenly all the interior problems that the family had seem like a small puddle compared to the seven-seas-sized dilemma they've got to contend with now.

  While the movie itself uses the boat's small confines to create a nice framing of claustrophobia and despair at times, the usual horror tropes are retread and spit back out like a fresh chum bucket for the big feeder fish - been there, done that and it's just tiring to watch. There's a two-pronged attack on the storyline itself, with not only the actual events that occurred, but an after-investigation with the police - it can be a bit tedious, but not difficult to keep in perspective. Oldman, who absolutely knocks every role he's served up out of the park seems to be wasting his time in this film, and outside of a couple of mid-line portrayals there really isn't much to speak of if you're looking for outstanding character representation. The overall product had a look and feel as if it was rushed to beat a deadline, and the presentation suffers as a result. At the end of it all it would be best to let Mary sail off in to the sunset, and ultimately submerge with no hope of reclamation.

RATING: 2 out of 5