The Shore

The Shore is purportedly the first installment in an already-written trilogy, which surely does not bode well for future film festivals. The movie is riddled with problems; there’s an unmistakable feeling of amateurishness that permeates every aspect of the production, from the melodramatic screenplay to the lackluster performances to the bland visual style. It’s fairly surprising, really, given the potentially electrifying subject matter – a young girl disappears during a trip to the beach, forcing her family to cope in different ways – but writer/director Dionysius Zervos imbues the movie with all the realism of a soap opera. Zervos’ overly glossy and distinctly self-indulgent directorial choices effectively prevent the film from achieving any sense of authenticity. The filmmaker’s curious obsession with slow-motion eventually becomes laughable, and his use of other equally needless tricks affords The Shore a vibe of tediousness almost immediately. The performances – despite the presence of veterans such as Ben Gazzara and Lesley Ann Warren in the film’s cast – come off as either competent (barely) or flat-out terrible, although (to be fair) the actors aren’t given a whole lot to work with (eg Warren’s character has blocked out the disappearance to such an extent that she freaks out after spotting the little girl on a “missing” poster, which hardly even seems possible). The Shore is a mess, plain and simple (and though the movie ends with a cliffhanger, one can’t help but hope that further installments are not forthcoming).

* out of ****