The Woman in Cabin 10 is part of a long rich tradition of “whodunnits.” Readers with a sense of mystery history might see Agatha Christie as a reference, while more populist moviegoers from the 2010s and 2020s might instead compare it to a series like Knives Out.
Cabin 10 stands apart from those zanier whodunnits, although Ruth Ware, the author of the novel The Woman in Cabin 10, acknowledges Christie’s influence. Part of the fun is discovering the problem, then the motivation, and then the culprit, but another big part of the fun of those stories is the characterization of the suspects. Sometimes we get a flighty old rich lady. Other times we get a man who walks and talks the part of a murderer but is, of course, not.
This film has a colder touch. “Zany” is not a word that exists anywhere near this world. The film’s vibe is more akin to James Bond than any kind of quaint mystery one might watch with their family. One of the reasons for that is it — almost entirely — takes place aboard a vessel that’s something between a luxury yacht and a small cruise ship.
Keira Knightley plays Laura “Lo” Blacklock, a journalist covering the maiden voyage of this impressive ship. She sees a past fling, meets curious, off-putting business people, playboy types, and influencers. One night, she thinks she sees a woman go overboard. Lo blinks. She doesn’t quite see a body submerged beneath the surface, but it’s night, and the ocean is black. It’s worth sounding the alarm.
The head of the ship, Richard Bullmer, played with convincing contempt by Guy Pearce, assures Lo that he checked both the travel log and the guest book, and everyone onboard the ship is accounted for. There is no missing guest.
Blacklock can’t shake the feeling that she knows what she saw. She explores deeper, and finds disturbing hints at what’s really going on: a bloody handprint, evidence of disguises, and conflicting, shallow motivations among guests.
Part of the fun of a film like The Woman in Cabin 10 is its mechanics. Substitute the characters and the setting with whomever and wherever you want. The thrill is experiencing the unknown, and then the knowing, regardless of the rest. If the rest is good, then suddenly the story becomes a classic of the already-stuffed subgenre.
It’s interesting to see the proliferation of original and adapted whodunnit stories come out of the woodwork after such a drought. The success of the Knives Out series has clear influence. That is not to take away from the success of some of the smaller, stand-alone films (like Cabin 10), but to point out that without the revival that came with the monster hit of Rian Johnson’s franchise, we might not be able to enjoy the middling-to-solid offerings the business throws at us in an attempt to cash in on a wave of enthusiasm.
Does The Woman in Cabin 10 stand a chance at shouldering through the crowded space into permanence? Probably not, but it is a solid return for Knightley, and a joy to see a cast of familiar faces relish their chances to play against type (or deeply into type).
