Out of Bounds (2003)

Director:

Merlin Ward

Writer:

Merlin Ward (written by)

Release Date:

31 October 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

...a spooky, sexy thriller...

Plot:

18-year-old Louise is stuck in a run-down girls' boarding school in the heart of the English countryside...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman

Cast

Sophie Ward	...	Veronica Van Huet
Sophia Myles	...	Louise Thompson
George Asprey	...	Matthew Van Huet
Michael Elphick	...	Lionel Stubbs
Julia Barrie	...	Isabelle Benallack
Celia Imrie	...	Doctor Imogen Reed
Richard Huw	...	David Benallack
Chris Humphreys	...	Detective Inspector Amer
Kelly Salmon	...	Phoebe Benallack
Rachel Ibbotson	...	Francesca
Jason Rush	...	Police
Tom Delmar	...	Taxi

Also Known As:

Dead in the Water (UK) (alternative title)

Runtime:

UK:90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:12 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

The Royal Masonic School, Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Enterprise Films

Quotes:

Detective Inspector Amer: Good evening, Mrs Van Huet. I see you've got another dead woman in your hall.

A timid approach spoils a promising thriller

The headmistress of an all-girl boarding school discovers her art-teacher husband is having an affair with a pupil. The husband disappears leaving his wife and the girl alone in the rambling old-school buildings during a school break.On paper this sounds like a good premise for a creepy thriller. In reality what we get is a series of unlikely killings, red-herrings a-plenty and an uneven tone that never pulls the viewer in to the story.

The biggest problem is the timid, anaemic direction for which writer Merlin Ward himself must take the blame. This is clearly a case of failing to identify the target audience. Is this an afternoon TV movie or a late-night thriller? In trying to hedge his bets Ward misses both targets. Clearly frightened of "Lolita" comparisons, he has Sophia Myles portray the schoolgirl at the heart of the story as the blandest of blondes. In similar vain, he makes only the merest of hints as to why headmistress Veronica Van Huet (an otherwise excellent performance by Sophie Ward) would not have had the girl expelled immediately.

The ending piles on the unlikely events thick and fast but fails to provide a satisfying explanation for them.

In truth it's probably not as bad as I've made it sound, but it is unsatisfying to see a missed opportunity to make a better movie. If only the Coen Brothers had been in charge this could have been a first-rate black comedy.