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

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,589, 29 June 1997

Gross USA:

$32,212

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$32,212

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

The movie is based on the Norwegian movie Head Above Water (1993). Nils Gaup, director of the original, said about it: "Twice Hollywood has remade my films, and both times they have managed to make the worst movie ever." The other movie being Pathfinder (2007).

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Goofs

It takes two people to carry the corpse from the house to the motor boat but later the judge is able to carry it on his own from the boat up a hill where he mixes cement, which sets very quickly, to cover it.

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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

Remake of Head Above Water (1993)

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Soundtracks

Love Is A Good Thing
Written by Sheryl Crow and Tad Wadhams
Performed by Sheryl Crow
Courtesy of A&M Records

User Reviews

Contrived and very average ............

The acting is pretty good, and seeing Harvey Keitel playing in a dark comedy was a pleasant surprise. What was not so pleasant was the plot. It starts out looking like another attempt to get rid of a dead body, like "Enid is Sleeping" or Drop Dead Sexy". What it winds up being is an overly complicated, convoluted black comedy, that is only marginally successful. Some of the plot contrivances are so unrealistic that they weaken the entire movie. Things like the postcard, a vodka bottle, and most of all a runaway chainsaw are nothing but ludicrous distractions. To top things off we get a completely unnecessary boat explosion as part of the astoundingly unbelievable conclusion. Very average at best. - MERK