Written and Directed by Andrew Walsh
Starring Olivia Fildes, Cris Cochrane and Adam Rowland

Filmmakers that take-on the challenge of having the dialogue in their film entirely improvised must accept that this arguably brave decision can completely make or break their movie. I’ve seen a dozen or so in my lifetime and cannot recall a single film with improvised dialogue that I felt genuinely worked. 

How Deep Is The Ocean, the micro-budget first feature film by writer and director Andrew Walsh, embraces the additional challenges placed upon itself of being made without a conventional script and storyboards, as well as having all of the actors’ dialogue improvised.

As a result, is How Deep Is The Ocean the first movie with improvised dialogue that I consider to be a successful project?

The set-up that introduces its characters and offers a trajectory for them to go certainly has potential. Eleanor (Olivia Fildes who I very recently saw in Sunflower) arrives in the city of Melbourne ready to start afresh. She takes up residence at a home occupied by Roy (Cris Cochrane) and finds herself a job at a local cafe. As she tries to find her feet during these first days, the various people she meets contribute towards the constant change her new life immediately begins to have.

I’d love nothing more than to announce How Deep Is The Ocean to be the first ever film with improvised dialogue that I could entirely appreciate and label a winner, but I must be honest and advise that is sadly not the case. Ultimately, it is where its chosen improv style takes viewers; physically, metaphysically, and thematically, that does not seize several opportunities the premise offers. Some character background concerning Eleanor and the reason she has left her home in Adelaide is provided to viewers. By the end of this 78 minute film, this tiny bit of detail stands as one of the most interesting pieces of discourse to emerge from any of its characters. Unfortunately, I found far too much of the banter to be ’empty’ and it did not generate any of the mystery or curiosity it was capable of. I rarely felt like these characters were getting to know each other beyond the surface or us really getting to know them. This is where I believe just a little bit of guidance for the actors could have gone a long way. Their dialogue could easily remain entirely improvised while having more backstory, characterisation, and trajectory to work with than there ostensibly is. I also noticed a lack of attention to detail throughout that calls for greater care and effort to be taken in continuity and editing. Despite not being the film to change my perception or experience to date with adlibbed dialogue, I would like to end on a more positive note by stating what does work well for How Deep Is The Ocean. These actors did not meet in person before filming commenced. As such, the awkwardness that is present when you first meet and try to figure another person out is entirely convincing. Also, after Sunflower and now this, young actress Olivia Fildes is showing a lot of promise and never looked uncomfortable in this more challenging role. This character is very different to the one she played in Sunflower, and it is great to see some variety on display early into what I believe will be a very long and successful global career in acting.

How Deep Is The Ocean is now available to watch via YouTube and Tubi.

Moviedoc thanks writer and director Andrew Walsh for personally contacting him to watch and review his film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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