Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

‘The Woman in Cabin 10‘ pulls the classic modern-mystery workaround, when smartphones ruin suspense, just set the story somewhere with no signal. A luxury yacht does the trick, with Keira Knightley playing journalist Laura Blacklock onboard a shiny vessel with no network or wifi. Though really, what’s stopping her from taking photos and videos when something shady happens?

Directed by Simon Stone (‘The Daughter’, ‘The Dig’), ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ is based on a book of the same name by Ruth Ware. Protagonist Laura Blacklock, known as Lo, is invited by a billionaire to cover the maiden voyage of a luxury cruise. There, Lo witnesses a woman falling into the sea and immediately reports it. But when everyone on board is accounted for, and nobody believes Lo, she is left alone in her quest to uncover the identity of the mysterious woman in Cabin 10.

Keira in the Woman in Cabin 10

The best thing about this thriller is that it’s only about 90 minutes long, because despite the crisp runtime, it feels slow, boring, and tedious. We’re simply told Laura is a brilliant investigative journalist, and the odd choice of sending her to cover a fluff piece about a luxury cruise is framed as a break from her usual hard-hitting stories. Everyone on the cruise however treats Laura like she’s some hysterical, mentally unstable woman, which is downright insulting.

Now, of course, there’s the faint possibility that Laura might have imagined everything and that no one actually drowned. But ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ sure as hell doesn’t work hard enough to make things feel that twisty.

Nobody stands out in this generic thriller, especially since we don’t even know who the victim is, making it hard to care about what might be happening. By hiding the victim’s identity, the film undermines its own mystery, there’s no emotional stake or plausible motive to fuel suspicion. There could’ve been ways to make things entertaining even with a faceless victim, but those options aren’t visible in this thriller.

The climax is melodramatic, silly even, and feels like it’s out of a thriller novel from the last century. If you’re a Keira Knightley fan, this film might be more enjoyable than the average thriller cluttering the genre.

Rating: 5 on 10. Watch ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ on Netflix.

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