Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

provided by

This clip shows Rae Ingram (Nicole Kidman), entering the engine room of the yacht on which Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane) is holding her captive. She locates the ignition switch and turns off the engine. Hughie, who is sitting on the mast boom listening to music, hears the engine switch off and jumps down to find Rae as she emerges from the engine room into the yacht’s cabin. Hughie chases her but Rae escapes onto the deck with the key to the yacht’s engine and throws it over the side. The dog jumps overboard to fetch it and Rae pleads with him to drop it, as Hughie coaxes him to bring the key back.

Educational value points

• Australian actor Nicole Kidman plays Rae Ingram, the young wife of Australian naval officer John Ingram (Sam Neill), in Dead Calm. It was this lead role that gained her international recognition, particularly in the USA where she went on to launch a successful career. In her US debut, Days of Thunder (1990), she played opposite Tom Cruise whom she married the same year. Kidman is one of Australia’s most successful actors and she has been nominated for, and won, a number of international awards including the Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002). Her film career spans 23 years and she has featured in more than 30 films.

• The clip successfully uses sound effects, music, lighting, camera angles and editing techniques to build suspense and create tension. Lighting is used effectively to contrast the confined space of the cabin with the openness on the deck. Camera angles and editing techniques are used to cut between the victim and the perpetrator, building the suspense and tension familiar to the thriller genre.

• Humour and metaphor contribute to the film narrative and character. Unexpected humour is created when Rae attempts to get to the deck with the engine key while avoiding Hughie, with the ensuing chase filmed like a sports event and Hughie using a sports metaphor to describe Rae’s temporary win. The humour in this scene contrasts dramatically with the power and cruelty that Hughie shows when he grabs Rae by the hair and throws her on the deck. The humour highlights the extremes in his personality.

• The film was based on the novel Dead Calm written in the late 1950s by US writer Charles Williams. Orson Welles bought the rights, renamed it 'The Deep’ and began filming in 1968, but abandoned it in 1973 after the death of a key cast member. Complications over the rights made it difficult to remake but these were eventually settled and Terry Hayes rewrote the screenplay based on the original story.

• Director of photography Dean Semler won an AFI (Australian Film Institute) Award in 1989 for Best Achievement in Cinematography for Dead Calm, which was filmed on the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland. The photography incorporates a wide range of shots that effectively capture the action, the subtleties of the performances and the environment of the yacht. In his international career Semler has been nominated for, and won, a number of other awards including an AFI award for My First Wife (1984) and an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Dances with Wolves (1990) in 1992.

• Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce attracted great acclaim for Dead Calm in the USA, and the movie successfully launched his career in Hollywood. Dead Calm won four AFI Awards in 1989, for Best Original Music Score (Graeme Revell) and Best Achievement in Cinematography (Dean Semler), Editing (Richard Francis-Bruce) and Sound (Ben Osmo, Lee Smith, Roger Savage). Phillip Noyce has become one of Australia’s best known film directors, with features including Newsfront (1978), Heatwave (1982), Patriot Games (1992), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) and The Quiet American (2002).

This clip starts approximately 47 minutes into the feature.

Rae cautiously enters the engine room of the yacht and fumbles for the ignition switch.
Rae Ah!
Nursing her hand, she manages to switch off the engine.

Up on deck, Hughie is smoking and listening to blues music. He jumps up when he realises the boat has stopped. He pursues Rae above and below decks until both are standing on opposite ends of the deck. She holds up the ignition key.
Hughie Score one for Mrs Ingram. She has a hell of a season ahead of her.
Rae throws the key overboard, but is dismayed to see her dog, thinking it’s a game, leap overboard to fetch it. Rae and Hughie both call out to the dog.
Rae Ben, no! No, Ben! Leave it! Leave it there.
Hughie Fetch, Ben, come on. Bring it here, boy.
Rae Alright, bring it here.
Hughie Stay, Ben.
Rae Come on. OK, drop it. Drop the key.
Hughie Hold the key, Ben.
Rae No, drop it!
Hughie Give it, boy.
Rae Over here, Ben. Come on!
Hughie Hey, Ben. Backstroke.
Rae Come on, Ben. Come on!
Ben swims to the boat with the key in his mouth. As Rae reaches to grab it from him, Hughie pulls at her hair from behind.
Rae Ah! Oh!
Hughie That’s beautiful bone structure there, Rae.
He pulls back her head and kisses her forehead. Pulling her by the hair he throws her to the ground.
Rae Ah! Ah! Ah.
Hughie pulls Ben onto the boat.
Hughie Good boy. He’s a champ, this one.