'The Woman in Cabin 10' delivers twists, paranoia, and a killer ending you won’t see coming

Of late, it’s been difficult to find a TV series or film that can hold my attention. 

However, I was piqued by the Netflix trailer of “The Women in Cabin 10”; it gave me the psychological thriller vibes of Jodie Foster’s “Flightplan” and Emily Blunt’s “Girl on the Train”. Those films were exceptional. 

Now I’m not the biggest Keira Knightley fan, which was a drawback. But, overall, the film has plenty of suspense to sustain curiosity.

The premise centres on Laura “Lo” Blacklock (Knightley), an investigative journalist, being invited to cover an altruistic story of terminally ill billionaire Anne Bullmer (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and her fundraising gala in Norway, which entails her being among the wealthy guests on their luxury superyacht to the event. 

Although she’s still recovering from PTSD from witnessing a source’s murder, Lo feels like that is the reset needed. 

Much to Lo’s surprise, her photographer ex Ben Morgan (David Ajala) is among the guests. 

Warmly received by Anne’s seemingly doting husband, Richard (Guy Pearce), all seems innocuous until Lo sounds the alarm bell of what she suspects to be someone falling overboard. 

Her concerns are addressed and laid to rest after further investigation by the crew, who confirm she’s mistaken as there was no guest in Cabin 10 and that everyone onboard is accounted for. 

But the hard-nosed journalist smells a rat and continues to look into it, annoying the other guests with what they deem as paranoia. 

Of course, Lo is a dog with a bone, and her suspicions are confirmed. However, it also puts her in the crosshairs of the murderer.

Pearce is a legend. He plays the duality of his role with the finesse one expects from someone of his calibre. While I’m not a fan of Knightley and found her performance more irritating than engaging, she contributed to the film’s thrills. 

The supporting cast, colourful in their own ways, played their part in questioning that fine line between logic and delusion. 

That the story was set aboard a yacht underpinned claustrophobic elements of frustration, fear and freedom. 

For fans of whodunits, it's a decent watch that successfully blurs the lines between reality and assumption.

Rating: *** solid and enjoyable, though not groundbreaking.