A Netflix film that fails to make any impact
The Abyss takes you to Kiruna, Sweden, where the ground has begun to split open due to intense mining. The film revolves around Frigga (Tova Novotny), who is in charge of security at the mines. The story follows Friga as she deals with the challenges of her job and balancing her family life. With a cast including Edvin Ryding, Peter Franzen, Kardo Razzazzi, Felicia Truedsson, and Tintin Poggats Sarri, this movie explores the ups and downs of Frigga’s world.
In The Abyss, the background score plays an important role in enhancing key moments, such as building collapses and character deaths. However, it falls short in using the same intense music during the important disaster scenes, which could have heightened the drama. While romantic scenes are well-complemented by soft music, the absence of strong background music during moments of panic and conflict is very noticeable. Additionally, while the dubbing is effective in some parts, it fails to convey the emotions of certain scenes.
Moving on to the performances, Felicia Truedsson as Mica and Tintin Poggats Sarri as Aila deliver strong performances as part of the supporting cast. However, Peter Franzen steals the show as Tage and brings out his character’s jealousy and emotional side with finesse. Whether it’s the intense mine collapse scene or his interactions with Dabir, Franzen makes his character memorable.
In a similar vein, Frigga is a total powerhouse! Tova Novotny brings her to life as a strong, no-nonsense woman who’s not afraid to show her emotions. Tova Novotny makes Friga appear like a tightrope walker who is trying to balance her professional and personal life while she tackles all the challenges that come her way.
The family background of Frigga and the presence of settlers in Kiruna remain unexplored, and this leaves the story disjointed. While Frigga’s character is somewhat fleshed out, the rest of the cast feels underdeveloped and merely there to fill space. The story also fails to provide a clear rationale for the mining activities and what exactly is being mined, adding to the confusion. By the time the climax arrives, the story has become so muddled that we, as an audience, struggle to understand how they reached this point.
Overall, the film leaves audiences with more questions than answers and tones of dissatisfaction. There are scenes hinting that Mica might be leaving Kiruna while Aila is planning on staying, but the film lacks details about this part of their relationship. Additionally, the protests shown in the movie lack clear justification, and we wonder why it is happening in the first place. Overall, the film seems to rely more on telling rather than showing, which makes the story boring and indigestible.
The first half is bearable, with a decent story and solid emotional bonds, but as the plot progresses, it falters, especially in the handling of disaster scenes. As discussed earlier, the second half feels disconnected and lacks explanation, particularly regarding the ongoing mining operations amidst the city’s crumbling land. In addition, the disaster scenes, including rock bursts, lack the impact you’d expect.
Despite being shown the measure of shocks, they feel random and unpredictable, not building up enough tension. Also, Frigga, the head of security, seems unaware of key parts of the mine despite following in her father’s footsteps. Her excuse is that the mine hasn’t been active for 40 years. Meanwhile, the city is literally cracking and falling apart around her. The initial disaster in the rift zone, while significant, fails to deliver a truly gripping moment due to poor cinematography. The climax disaster scene is digestible, but the rest of the disasters feel like low effort, lacking the impact they should have.
The Abyss has its good points, like the actors and some of the background music. However, it falls short in many areas like character development, writing, story, and especially the disaster scenes, which just aren’t very appealing and choreographed.
The movie is a low-budget disaster thriller with lacklustre disaster scenes that fail to excite. The actors do their best, but they can’t save the weak script. It’s only available in Hindi and Swedish in some countries on Netflix. So, it’s best you skip it because it’s not worth the effort.
Read More: The Abyss Ending Explained
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Verdict - 5/10
5/10