Head Above Water (1996)

A prominent judge, his wife, her ex-lover, and their neighbor encounter a dead body that complicates their lives.

Director:

Jim Wilson

Writers:

Eirik Ildahl (screenplay "Hodet over vannet"), Geir Eriksen (screenplay "Hodet over vannet")

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Cameron Diaz, Craig Sheffer

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Harvey Keitel	...	George
Cameron Diaz	...	Nathalie
Craig Sheffer	...	Lance
Billy Zane	...	Kent
Shay Duffin	...	Policeman

Storyline

In this dark comedy, a supreme court judge (George) and his very young wife (Nathalie) are on vacation at her family's summer home on an island. When the caretaker, her childhood pal, Lance, takes George on a fishing trip an old flame (Kent) shows up to surprise Nathalie while she's alone. After a night of drinking Nathalie awakes to find Kent, naked and dead in her bed, just as her husband and Lance are arriving. Panicked, Nathalie hides the body but as everyone finds out it just leads to more trouble as they try to dispose of the body and eventually discover what really happened to her ex.

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Plot Keywords:

beach house | tied to a chair | gagged with a lime | bound and gagged | cement shoes | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about keeping your ex-lover a secret, your husband in the dark and your head above water.

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Genres:

Comedy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some moments of strong violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 June 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Acque profonde

Filming Locations:

Phippsburg, Maine, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$32,212

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$806,649

Company Credits

Production Co:

Majestic Films International, Tig Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mo the bird is a crested caracara, a species of falcon indigenous to Mexico.

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the credits, after the copyright notice, there's an additional scene showing Lance's bird, Mo, on a cliff near the shore, chewing on the remains of Kent's postcard.

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Connections

References The Gazebo (1959)

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Soundtracks

Please, please please
Written by James Brown (uncredited) and Johnny Terry (uncredited)
Performed by James Brown

User Reviews

Too bad that in the end it all got a bit unbelievable and over the top

I love comedies, especially when they are dark like "Head Above Water". I remember seeing this movie for the very first time about five years ago and it had me completely in its power. But in the meantime I've seen so many good movies, that I wondered if this would still be as good as I remembered it to be. The answer is no, not completely. Yes, it is still a very nice movie, but not as great as some other dark comedies that I've seen in the recent past.

Nathalie has recently been married to George, a prominent judge who she met when she had to stand trial. They now have taken a holiday in Nathalie's idyllic summerhouse in the middle of nowhere and the only person in the neighborhood is Nathalie's old friend and neighbor Lance, who joins them. When George and Lance go on a fishing trip, Nathalie's former lover turns up. He has a couple of drinks and then falls asleep in Nathalies bed ... naked. When George and Lance suddenly come back home, Nathalie panics. She tries to wake Lance up, but he's dead and the only idea she can come up with is hiding his body under the floor board, where he will soon be discovered...

Despite or perhaps thanks to the small cast, you'll see some fine acting. Harvey Keitel is a good actor and he does a nice job playing the judge who goes crazy. Cameron Diaz is also enjoyable as Nathalie, the woman with more troubles around her head than she can cope with. In fact, all actors did a good and convincing job portraying their characters, but it wasn't enough to make this movie a masterpiece. What bothered me most was the fact that it all started to go too far. All the characters had to die in such an unbelievable and over-the-top way, that it spoiled a lot of my fun. Nevertheless I must admit that I enjoyed big parts of the movie and that's why I still give it a 7/10. It's not the best example of a dark comedy, but I've seen worse.