Eleanor (Olivia Fildes) struggles to get her life back on track on the streets of Melbourne as she navigates a series of setbacks related to work, a roof over her head, a past that seems to haunt her emotionally and some poor decisions.
Australian filmmaker Andrew Walsh’s debut feature is a 1h 19m drama distributed worldwide by Indie Rights — a Los Angeles-based company that supports the work of independent artists. The distribution deal has guaranteed them release through Amazon Prime, Tubi, Apple TV, Plex and Google Play. Walsh, who in addition to directing served as writer, told Global Comment that How Deep is the Ocean will be available on more streaming platforms soon.
The micro-budget indie drama plays with the colors of Melbourne through its ocean. Cinematographer, Scott David Liste, gets beautiful views of the different shades of blue to bring the more introspective scenes to life around the sea, along with the waves and seagulls.
Meanwhile, seeking to dive into other waters, the story defies the rules of conventional filmmaking by being largely improvised. While some stand-out scenes in the history of cinema have come spontaneously from the actors, this Australian film goes a step further by not using a conventional script or storyboards, but instead dialogue largely improvised by the actors.
Although innovative, this technique has complications and is a risky move in filmmaking because of the type of narrative that develops without prior scripting. In How Deep is the Ocean, improvisation works at times, especially during the exchanges between Eleanor and her landlord, Roy (Cris Cochrane), but they can dissolve while finding a voice.
Undoubtedly, unique moments can come out of improvisation, which is why some filmmakers resort to these sparks of energy that allow actors to play with their creativity. However, improvisation can divert attention, get very long scenes that slow down the story, complicate cleaner editing and give results where the actors seem to wander without destination — in this case it could be a metaphor for the life of Eleanor, who walks aimlessly due to the pressures of youth and a complicated past that she seems willing to forget.
She arrives in Melbourne with a backpack on her back and little money, trying to restart her life with a new job and home in the city. But the road to stability is not easy, as she settles into a boarding house with no lock on the door, a broken shower and an alcoholic landlord who, although he might look like a predator, ends up being something akin to a friend.
She has no luck at work either, partly because of the immaturity of her age. This leads her down a path that does not suggest growth. In the process she has some wins; a few months after her arrival she makes friends, gets a stable job and finds a place to sleep, however, she continues to make some choices that lead her to a point where she doesn’t want to be.
Although she visibly struggles to fit in, it doesn’t feel like she is ready yet for the happiness she hopes for.
Eleanor’s conflicts come from that past of which she speaks little. She shows signs of being adapted to the blows of life, almost normalizing the behavior of some of the people around her. However, when a potential relationship knocks on her door, she rejects it again and again, choosing the married man expecting a child, who offers her no future. The way this relationship plays out marks the breaking point that makes her reconsider her stay in the city.
Despite the harshness of new beginnings, Eleanor considers fleeing again without fighting for Melbourne, perhaps exhausted by the losses, the lack of illusion and the realization that she started off on the wrong foot.
Is she ultimately defeated by her youth? It is complicated to survive at different stages of life, but being 20 means you are no longer a child and you are just learning to be an adult and realizing that life just doesn’t get easier just because you want it to.
Find out how to watch How Deep Is the Ocean here.