movie review
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Scottish Lad Finds Friend in Beast
Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel) is a young lad living in Scotland during World War II. He and his family, including mother Anne (Emily Watson) and sister Kirstie (Priyanka Xi) are the caretakers of a grand old manor complete with meandering staircases, four-poster beds, and a library filled with dusty books.
In his father’s workshop—adorned with magazine clippings, maps, and war-related items—Angus eagerly marks off the days when his father will return from the war.
One day, during an outing on the shores of a nearby loch, Angus finds a mysterious, barnacle-encrusted item, which he takes home and hides in the workshop, only to discover that inside is a brilliant blue egg, out of which hatches a creatures that’s a cross between a seal and a lizard. Angus names him Crusoe after Robinson Crusoe.
At first, Crusoe is a cute little guy who loves playing in the bathtub inside the house. But he grows at an incredible rate, tripling in size each night until he can’t fit in either the bathtub or the fountain in the courtyard.
With the help of Kirstie and a handyman named Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin), Angus sadly releases Crusoe into the loch. Mowbray wonders aloud if it’s a legendary creature called a water horse. He explains to Angus that there can only be one in the world at a time, and before dying, the beast lays an egg so another can take its place.
Meanwhile, the war rages on. The Royal Army sets up camp in the house, pointing their cannons at the loch and any German subs that might be passing through. All of this is told in flashback, by an old man in a present-day pub to a young couple listening in rapt attention. The conversation was sparked by the famous photo of the Loch Ness Monster.
The story meanders pleasantly in the first half of the movie. We get a sense of the era and characters – mainly, Angus, who needs a reason to live while his father is away at war. Crusoe offers that reason, as well as a lesson in letting go.
I love this movie because everything fits together seamlessly: beautiful Scottish scenery complete with abandoned castles, dark-grained interiors of the grand manor, a family struggling during World War II, and a lovely Celtic soundtrack.
The computer-generated beast is very life-like, and the action gets a little scary for kids (and, ok, adults). For this reason, I don’t recommend it for kids younger than nine. That said, my 10-year-old daughter and I really enjoyed this movie.
Comments on The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Post a Comment