Streaming on Netflix
Murder mysteries can often feel like a dime a dozen, especially those that utilize the potentially unreliable protagonist trope. I have always said that it is possible to make a familiar genre or narrative feel fresh, depending on the execution and style, and especially the effort put into it all. While today's subject, The Woman in Cabin 10, does not bring anything substantially new to the table, it does present a fresh enough take on the genre to warrant a curious viewing, especially if it means supporting the unjustly forgotten talent (preceptively) of Keira Knightley and all other talented performers like her.
The story follows a professional journalist named Laura Blacklock (Keira Knightley), who is dealing with the recent trauma of witnessing a murder while working on a story. Shortly afterward, she is unexpectedly invited to sail away on a private yacht with a billionaire, Richard Bullmer (Guy Pierce) and his wife, Anne (Lisa Loven Kongsli), who is dying from cancer, to cover a special announcement regarding their future. After meeting with Anne and discovering her wishes upon her death, Laura discovers a mysterious woman residing in the cabin next to hers, shortly followed by what appeared to be her equally mysterious murder, made all the more unusual by everyone's insistence that no one had been occupying that cabin. Now, Laura must determine if what she saw was real or the result of post-traumatic stress. With only a few days on the yacht, surrounded by influential people who would benefit more from sweeping scandals under the rug, Laura must tread lightly in her investigation.
This film offers nothing new in a murder mystery, but it is executed and presented well enough to forgive its clichés. The cast do their jobs diligently (especially Keira Knightley), and the script is crafted well enough to convey the mystery while keeping you guessing, even if you still manage to call out the twist halfway through.
Movies like these are, more often than not, challenging to review because there's not much to be said about them other than they're fine. If you need a fresh mystery for the weekend, give this one a shot. At the very least, you also get some lovely shots of the ocean.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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