Head Above Water (1996)

A prominent judge, his wife, her ex-lover, their neighbor and 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

judge | tied feet | underwater | remake of norwegian film | ex boyfriend | 

---

Taglines:

Murder just became a water sport.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Thriller

---

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.

---

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.

---

Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Leave It to Beaver/Money Talks/Mimic/Masterminds/Gabbeh (1997)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Black comedies don't get much better than this...

Get this plot line: married couple Keitel and Diaz are on vacation (honeymoon, maybe, can't remember), on a small island. Their only neighbor is Sheffer, a friend of Diaz. Along comes Zane, as Diaz's ex-lover. He talks Diaz into letting him stay the night. The next morning when Diaz goes to check on him, he's dead. Cause of death is, appearantly, a heart attack. At that same moment Keitel and Sheffer are arriving on shore. She tries to hide the body, but Keitel stumbles onto it (literally). Did I mention that Keitel is a judge? He believes that the only solutions would be to dispose of the body, or possibly be charged with murder. At that point the question arises about his death. Could it have been murder? If so, let's look at the suspects. Diaz obviously didn't kill him, so that leaves the other two. Is it Keitel, the possibly jealous husband, or Sheffer? This plot has "potential" written all over it.

Head Above Water is a remarkable black comedy with great performances and a great script that keeps you guessing. Just when you think you've found the killer, along comes some new evidence to point you in another direction. It plays great as both a Mystery and a Comedy, although the comedy is quite subtle. Anyone with a taste for mystery and comedy is in for a real surprise. Even if you aren't into those genre's, you'll still enjoy this great film. It would be extremely hard to dislike, because it's just so much fun.