Sea Fever

Sea Fever is an oddly prescient film. In the North American market, it was released in April of 2020, roughly a month after most cities had locked down homes and businesses in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. The movie was made well before anyone was even aware of the virus, making the quarantine element in its plot eerily prophetic.

The story sees the fishing trawler Niamh Cinn-Óir sail into the Irish Sea in hopes of returning with a large catch. It is, though, the boat that gets caught as something in the water latches on to the vessel and starts to penetrate its hull. The crew soon discover that the menace to the trawler threatens them directly as well.

The personnel aboard the Niamh Cinn-Óir are like the more extreme elements of society gathered together in a confined space. Some members of the crew fall victim to a mysterious infection, which leads marine biology student Siobhán (Hermione Corfield) to conclude a quarantine is necessary. Her shipmates, though, resist the idea, arguing that if there is an infection going around, they need to get medical help as quickly as possible.

The effects of the infection in Sea Fever are quite dramatic and impossible to ignore. Even when faced with this evidence and Siobhán’s dire warnings about bringing the infection to heavily populated areas, most of the Niamh Cinn-Óir’s crew can only think of returning to their homes and families, refusing to give isolation any consideration.

This conflict between the young marine researcher and the fishing crew serves as the conflict aboard the vessel, helping to maintain the tension in the story. Without that friction, Sea Fever would have considerably less drama as the external threat is not the typical aggressive creature or violent phenomenon that are the staple of disaster films.

This film’s limited budget obviously contributed to writer/direction Neasa Hardiman’s decision to provide only brief glimpses of what’s attacking the Niamh Cinn-Óir, but the need to conserve effects actually works in the film’s favour as the strong cast prove quite capable of keeping the story going. Corfield is a revelation as the dedicated science student who frequently finds social situations painfully awkward. She is able to convey Siobhán’s caring nature while demonstrating how difficult it is to interact with people as she never seems to say the right things. Connie Nielsen and Dougray Scott play Freya and Gerard, the owners of the boat who have years of experience at sea but who find themselves out of their depth when dealing with a menace that no one understands. The rest of the crew played by Irish stage and screen veteran Olwen Fouéré, Elie Bouakaze, Jack Hickey, and Ardalan Esmaili put in very solid performances to draw in viewers.

Score: 7/10; Streamed on 2020-October-13.