LOST AT SEA // A FILM REVIEW OF "GET AWAY IF YOU CAN"
Trouble is brewing on the sea for a married couple hoping to fix their troubled marriage in the new thriller GET AWAY IF YOU CAN, a new indie thriller created by and starring Dominique Braun and Terrence Martin. Braun and Martin play a couple who are sailing across the ocean while trying to work on their marriage. When they come upon an unknown island, Domi (Braun) wants to get out an explore telling her husband TJ (Martin) that she has cabin fever and just needs to relax off the boat. But he won't let her off because that would ruin his "plan" on getting to their destination on time, something that his father (Ed Harris) has drilled into him. He needs to "take charge on the ship" and "show her that he's the boss." Typical chauvinistic behavior.
So she leaves the boat in the middle of the night and goes to the island, leaving TJ waking up to an empty boat and screaming her name into the ether. What lies ahead on the island for both of them and will TJ ever stop being such a prick? The answer to the second question is an assured no. From the moment he shows that he has no interest in learning her language and makes a babbling noise mocking her speaking, the audience is done with him. And there's no coming back. All of this is interjected with flashbacks showing scenes with Ed Harris giving terrible advice and shaping TJ into the asshole he currently is. The film wants you to not like TJ but eventually get on his side. But you won't switch sides, cause he never earns it, and I for one simply kept waiting for a divorce that is long overdue.
It also doesn't help that the writing/directing duo of Braun/Martin are amateurish at best. The dialogue is very weak and poorly written (often sounding like bad improv dialogue) and their acting is even worse. The running time is a bit under 90 minutes and even at that length it still feels like it drags and is too long. The only saving grace is the assured performance by Ed Harris. Even as a very unlikable character, he can capture a scene like a master and walks away with every scene he's in. Having Harris is the only saving grace in an aimless film that's literally lost at sea.
GRADE: D
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Dominique Braun, Terrence Martin STARRING Ed Harris, Terrence Martin, Dominique Braun, Riley Smith, Martina Gusman. IN SELECT THEATRES AND ON DIGITAL FRIDAY, AUGUST 19th.