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Deep Water

A sobering look at the world's first round-the-world solo sailors

By Geoff Berkshire

August 24, 2007

Critic's Rating:

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A look back at a 1968 non-stop, single handed round-the-world sailing race sponsored by the British paper The Sunday Times. Nine men signed up for the challenge, but this film focuses primarily on Donald Crowhurst, an amateur, whose experience in the race took numerous twists and turns. Narration is provided by Tilda Swinton, star of “The Deep End” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Big question: What relevance does this story have for contemporary audiences, nearly 40 years after the fact?

Catch it: Fans of serious non-fiction will relish this sober, sophisticated documentary that gets a big boost from impressive 16mm films and tape recordings made by the sailors themselves. That material, much of which was re-discovered by the filmmakers, is combined with contemporary interviews of participants, friends and family members to create a complete picture of the event.

Skip it: There’s something unavoidably remote about the subject matter and a PBS-esque dryness to the approach by filmmakers Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell. In a year full of compelling docs it will be even more difficult for “Deep Water” to connect with audiences.

Bottom line: The film gets more interesting as it charts the rough waters of the human mind isolated from the rest of the world, but it’s still an acquired taste.

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