PLOT: In a post-apocalyptic world, six soldiers on a covert mission must transport a mysterious package across a frozen archipelago.
REVIEW: There have been many films set during a post-apocalyptic landscape so it can be very hard to tell them all apart. It’s not necessarily a groundbreaking foundation to build a story on but the team behind the latest Netflix film Black Crab tries something a bit different with the theme by making something more grounded and intimate. At the end of the day, Black Crab is something we’ve seen before but the focus on character, strong visuals, and a committed performance from Noomi Rapace make the film worthy of a watch. Also, considering our current real-world situation, its depiction of war hits you on a much more visceral level than was probably originally intended.
A civil war has already broken out in Sweden at the start of the film and we learn little to nothing about the politics, factions, or causes behind this conflict. This proves to be the right move on the part of the screenplay by director Adam Berg and Pelle Rådström. The story is focused more on a singular mission amidst a bigger war. It details how far people are willing to go and what they’re willing to do for the people they love.
In this case, the singular mission is focused on Caroline Edh (Noomi Rapace), who while driving with her daughter learns of the news that there are a series of attacks in the area. During one of the film’s best sequences, a sudden escalation of war takes place and people begin running past the car. Soon enough, Caroline spots soldiers shooting people on the road and their car is infiltrated Caroline’s daughter being taken from her grasp.
This eventually makes Caroline a solider on the opposing side. They use the glimmering hope that Caroline will be able to see her daughter again if she helps participate in this mission. The country’s government has collapsed and and Sweden has torn itself apart with the two factions are set on tearing each other apart.
The mission involves Caroline and a team of five skating across the frozen sea, along an archipelago in the north, and reaching a remote island. They will take two canisters, containing some unknown substance along with them. Their side is losing but what’s inside the canisters could end the war for good.
There is something about the intimacy and simplicity in which filmmaker Adam Berg attacks the project that really makes all of this work. These moments actually work more than some of the sequences of war. The sense of vast isolation that Berg captures is palpable.
That’s not to say that there aren’t any sequences of action. Enemy forces on foot and in a stalking helicopter are trying to stop them and this leads to solid moments of action as the members of the gradually diminishing team flee from the hovering searchlight of the chopper. The action is pretty standard but it all works because through it all because we are reminded of the quiet tension that comes before it.
Berg, who is making his feature film directorial debut with this film, uses a keen eye and striking visuals to build Black Crab‘s mounting tension. He utilizes the snowy setting to his advantage, creating a lack of visibility for both the characters and the audience. There is also a truly startling sequence that sees our soldiers skating across the ice as they see numerous dead bodies trapped underneath. It’s equal parts frightening and strikingly beautiful.
The heart of the story belongs to Noomi Rapace. She has been popping up in some fascinating projects lately and we can add this one to the list. She brings a magnetizing vulnerability to her role and she never wavers in what this mission means to her. This is all about her daughter and as the mission escalates, so does her drive to see her daughter again. Rapace’s performance alone makes Black Crab destination viewing on Netflix this weekend.
Black Crab offers up an entertaining and taut thriller that never threatens to go too big. The simplicity of its approach makes the film work and, unbeknownst to the filmmakers at the time this movie was made, the current war that we’re experiencing in the real world gives this story an added emotional relevancy. As for as direct-to-Netflix movies go, Black Crab hits the mark.