I don't know who was responsible for deciding to film the opening 15 minutes and the remaining 7 minutes in matchbox sized 2:1 ratio film stock but he should be kept away from movie making in the future as I was sorely tempted to switch off after the first 10 minutes and that would have been a real shame !
What was his premise ? To show that Soviet Russian sailors whilst on shore leave lived in poverty ? Surely this was made clear by the crew having to pawn their watches to pay for a colleagues wedding party after not receiving their salaries, or was it something slightly subtler that I missed ? Whatever it was it was misguided and failed miserably.
Having said that, I thought the remainder of the film was both suspenseful and strangely melancholic, also having read about the incident when it actually occurred, historically factual.
The abject failure of the Soviet Government, Vladimir Putin and the Navy during this crisis is still as shocking today as it was then and serves as a reminder of how little value, even for their own sons, life means to the Kremlin Hierarchy.
As for the cast; a mention to Matthias Schoenaerts the Russian submariner Mikhail, a powerful and heart rendering performance. Also to Colin Firth, the British commodore David Russell, both played truly believable roles.
On a side note, I appreciate Max von Sydow is 90 and was equally believable as Admiral Petrenko, but he really does look like a fossil these days and should consider putting away the grease paint.
All in all well worth a watch.