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DEEP WATER
Directed by: Louise Osmond & Jerry Rothwell.
Produced by: Al Morrow, Jonny Persey & John Smithson.
Director of photography: Nina Kellgren.
Edited by: Ben Lester.
Music by: Molly Nyman & Harry Escott.
Released by: IFC Films.
Country of Origin: UK. 93 min. Rated PG.
Narrated by: Tilda Swinton.

In 1967, Francis Chichester was knighted for sailing around the globe single-handedly (with one stop in Australia). Hyperbolic Fleet Street journalist Ted Hynds describes his achievement, along with the rise of the Beatles and the new sexual freedom, as part of the dawn of a new Elizabethan age. The next challenge, the “race of the century,” would award 5,000 pounds to the first sailor who circled the world solo and non-stop, and another 5,000 for the one with the fastest time. Of the nine competitors, the press hyped underdog father of four Donald Crowhurst, a weekend sailor, as the “dark horse of the sea.”

All omens foretold trouble for the 36-year-old – the champagne bottle at his boat’s christening failed to shatter; it had to be done by hand. Privately he told a journalist that his 41-foot yacht, built from scratch, was not ready for the high seas. And in order to compete, Crowhurst, a failed electronics manufacturer, found backing for the race, agreeing to pay back his sponsor if he dropped out early – which would lead to his financial ruin.

Once out on the open waters, he not only remained last in the race, but water began leaking into his engine compartment. He could continue to sail onto the dangerous Southern Ocean, which would be suicidal, or quit and face humiliation. But Crowhurst came up with a third option. First, he telegraphed London that he had broken the single-day speed record. Then, not one word was heard from him for seven weeks until he resurfaced, apparently still in the race (this is in 1968, long before high-tech global tracking).

Deep Water’s producer John Smithson also had a hand in another Boys Own expedition-turned-disaster (a new British subgenre?), Touching the Void, one of the best films of 2004, a seamless hybrid of documentary and reenactment, which viscerally took the viewer into the Andes and a fall into an icy crevice.

Here, directors Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell rely on the remarkable 16mm footage shot from the yachts of both Crowhurst and one of his competitors in the race, Frenchman Bernard Moitessier; readings from Crowhurst’s log book; his chilling audio recordings; and spectacular vistas of the expansive ocean. However, the film’s heartbeat is in the articulate interviews of Crowhurst’s wife and eldest son piecing together Crowhurst’s actions. Not only is this an incredible saga of Jack London proportions, it’s also a great detective tale. Kent Turner
August 24, 2007