"The Abyss"

Title: "The Abyss"
Director: James Cameron
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd, Van Ling
Editing: Conrad Buff, Joel Goodman
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Starring:
- Ed Harris as Virgil "Bud" Brigman
- Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Lindsey Brigman
- Michael Biehn as Lt. Hiram Coffey

Plot and Critical Review: In 1984 James Cameron began work with Orion Pictures on a small and unassuming sci-fi film called "The Terminator." It became one of the most successful Orion films of all time, surpassing all box-office expectations. In 1986 Cameron did the impossible when he filled the shoes of Ridley Scott and directed "Aliens", the sequel to the unbelievably successful "Alien" of '79. When 1986 rolled around Cameron chose to develop an idea that had been running around in his head since high-school; the story of a group of underwater oil riggers who discover creatures from another world. That idea became "The Abyss" which Cameron wrote and directed.

"The Abyss" is the story of a group of underwater oil riggers that are sent on a top secret mission to rescue the crew of the USS Montana, a U.S. submarine that mysteriously disappeared near the Cayman Trough, an enormous fault zone in the Caribbean Sea. A team of Navy SEALs are sent to aid the wayward crew (all with their own unique and likeable quirks). Along with the SEALs come Lindsey Brigman, the almost-ex-wife of Virgil Brigman (Harris) who helped "Bud" design the "rig" (drilling apparatus). One of the two subplots in this film is the fragile relationship between "Bud" and Lindsey that takes many turns over the course of the film.

The other subplot which demands much more attention is the developing intention of the SEAL team's commander, Lt. Coffey. The SEALs are originally sent along to secure the nuclear warheads in the wreckage of the Montana but when Coffey begins to suffer from High Pressure Nervous Syndrome (due to the depths at which they must work to secure the submarine and warheads, of course) he begins to act without reason and logic, slipping into a paranoid state. The tension begins to mount when Lindsey encounters something in the darkness of the sea, a life form moving at incredible speeds. The crew begins to experience many encounters with the "non-terrestrial intelligences" (NTIs), including the popular "water snake" scene that influenced much of how computer graphics are used in films today. Coffey, in a fit of growing madness, determines the only right thing to do is to use one of the warheads recovered from the Montana and send it to the bottom of the Trough, to where he believes the NTIs reside.

The crew tries to call for help but has lost all contact with the surface due to a gathering storm. The only thing left to do is for them to take measures into their own hands and stop the SEALs themselves. Driven by utter madness and insanity, Coffey will do anything to destroy the beings he cannot understand. In several feats of strength and bravery the crew respond with similar courage to stop him.

I simply can't give any more of the plot to you now, for the ending (indeed, the final 1/4 of the film) must be seen. I reckon i've already spoiled the two movies reviewed thus far; ought to leave something to be desired.

"The Abyss" is as dark as it's title. Ever foreboding there are few moments of joy as the film is designed to keep us in the dark. Indeed, only shots on the surface of the ocean or in the more-lit rooms of the rig give us any sense of the "whole picture." The rather long (but never belabored) scene in the wrecked submarine is a perfect example of the mystery Cameron wove into every scene of this film. There is constant confusion, wondering, and doubt. We do not even understand who or what the NTIs are until the very end of the film in a revelation that can justly be defined as "classic."

Harris is still a young man here and his acting is full of an energy we probably won't see from him in the future. The power of the ensemble (once again) is made well known as no one ever "leads" the film until the very end when there are only a few characters standing in the spotlight. The most important character is, of course, the Abyss itself. We only ever learn as much about it as the floodlights will show us in front of the submersible vehicles used by the oil rig crew.

I have always loved submarine films for the constant tension that is presented to the viewer. Somehow the idea of deadly pressures all around the actors keep me in suspense, even more so than space films for space ships seem so much more protected our frail submarines. "The Abyss" is a great submarine film that has been married to a suspenseful sci-fi plot. It is absolutely worth the watching and certainly worth the buying. Thus...

My Rating: 8/10

The "Reel Revelation": "Under Pressure"

The moment we see that Lt. Coffey is suffering from HPNS we know the plot is going to take a turn from the worse. It begins with his hand shaking after he arrives at the rig. By the end of the movie he is lost in complete lunacy. Coffey was told to report any signs of HPNS. He didn't, and his actions influenced the lives of every person around him. All he had to do was tell one person he was beginning to experience the symptoms and he could have been treated. Instead he kept to himself as his ailment worsened.

Have you ever felt under pressure? I don't have to know who you are (for there are some reading this who I may not know) to know that you've felt just like Lt. Coffey. Perhaps you've fallen under pressure in a certain situation (or pressured by a particular person) and felt like you couldn't tell anyone how you were suffering. How did you react? How did you cope? Did you cope at all?

In this life we are constantly under pressure. Indeed, we are being pushed upon from all sides (or pulled, as was the sentiment in the "Reel Revelation" for 21) to become someone, or to achieve a certain way of life that the world determined to be acceptable, something to be desired. How often are those contrary to what we know of the will of God?

When you feel pressured to become or do anything that you know will not be of benefit to the Family of God, don't sit on that feeling! Be forthcoming with God that you desire his ways over the ways of the world! Be forthcoming with others that you need help in remaining focused on the will of God. This is why we've been placed alongside one another, to help relieve the tremendous pressures that are pressing upon our lives.

See you tomorrow - E.T.