The achievements of this Joseph Conrad modernisation are chiefly logistical: from modest means, writer-director Peter Fudakowski assembles a workable portrayal of a Chinese-operated commercial frigate moving through increasingly stormy waters. Dramatically, alas, it remains rather flat. Leads Jack Laskey, as our hunky captain, and Zhu Zhu, as the wanted woman he plucks from the sea, are graduates of the Triangle school of onboard emoting, and the direction of people, rather than boats, proves questionable throughout: Fudakowski reserves his greatest enthusiasm for exoticising, male-gazey images of Zhu in the altogether, or wearing one of the captain's crisp white shirts just so off the shoulder.
Secret Sharer review – stormy-seas drama remains rather flat
This article is more than 9 years old
Based on a Joseph Conrad short story, this tale of a Chinese frigate entering troubled waters has its good moments and its questionable ones
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