Don't Get Wet
Dark Water
Review by Ross Anthony

Excellent acting, strong direction, and real dialogue. And yeah, it's a little scary, a little eerie, but for me at least; the pay off is quite small. Then, again, I may be biased; I'm not a fan of horror, while I do love the supernatural. I guess I was looking for a little more redeeming value here.

It's all about the acting. Jennifer Connelly plays a recently single parent, feuding with her husband over custody of their daughter, while trying to maintain sanity in a building brimming with water. Jennifer is rock solid and real, though the roll (or apartment) doesn't give her much room to shine. It's really the adorable Ariel Gade that breaths life into the film; she nails her roll as the fragile/resilient child. Additionally, Tim Roth (always excellent) gives a great deal of personality to the divorce lawyer whose small character is so big; it almost wants to take control of the film. Then there is John C. Reilly, again, a smaller role, but the actor is just so good that his performance may be the most memorable thing about the picture.

In sum, this is a high quality production, with strong direction, great acting, but ultimately not much crawling beneath the surface.


  • Dark Water. Copyright © 2005.
  • Starring Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite, Ariel Gade.
  • Directed by Walter Salles.
  • Screenplay by Rafael Yglesias.
  • Produced by Bill Mechanic Roy Lee and Doug Davison at Touchstone.

Grade..........................B (2/4)

Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.

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Last Modified: Saturday, 16-Sep-2006 08:13:03 PDT