Sunday October 26, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 10:24 am | Updated 11:18 am]
Film news & review by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The Woman in Cabin 10 was released on the Netflix streaming service on October 20; six days later it is promoted as #6 in the Netflix Top 10.
The plot is pitched as a woman journalist who is not believed about what she sees for herself.
The length of this movie was just about right. It was long enough to outline a story but not so long that the burden of following the plot encouraged disconnect.
Almost entirely, it seems, a movie to feature superstar actress Keira Knightley in the lead role as an insightful investigative journalist, the choppy delivery takes work on behalf of the viewer.
As one Google reviewer says: “The Woman in Cabin 10 looks terrific but never fully finds its sea legs.”
Being set on a large cruise ship, the director Simon Stone couldn’t seem to help himself in trying to feature scenes that were reminiscent of the 1997 blockbuster Titanic which has become a classic for all time. There was even an attempt to play off the romance-adventure aspects of Titanic, with Knightley’s character running into an old flame on the two-and-a-half day cruise who (spoiler alert) ends up saving her life through his own sacrifice (just as Leonard DiCaprio’s character did for Kate Winslet’s character in Titanic).
Stone co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse based on the novel by Ruth Ware.
But the attempt to parallel the Titanic classic is cringe-worthy, including this film focussing on the worst characterizations of the rich and famous compared to Titanic which presented a range of society’s classes.
Some huge gaps in plot credibility — how does the journalist go overboard and then — after a long swim in the cold ocean — somehow just show up at the rich-folks party hours later looking none the less for the experience? Also, the strategy of how a real journalist would gather her evidence and hold it for the right time does not pass a reality check.
Ah yes, the choppy delivery … suddenly Knightley’s character is back in her upscale US magazine editorial office — receiving accolades from peers but essentially back to business with nary a ruffled feather.
Some viewers will notice — the intense mouth-acting technique that Knightley often uses is less prominent in this film that in some of her others.
A good movie for filling some time on a weekend evening but another example of over-crafting a plot and theme for the benefit of featuring one actress who has built a career portraying intense women’s roles (e.g. in Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, 2011) but also adventure roles (e.g. playing Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean iconic film series 2003–2007; 2017).
Online reviews:
Google reviews of The Woman in Cabin 10 average at 2.9 out of 10. As one reviewer put it: “Go ahead, just keep telling yourself not to “think too much” about all the preposterous situations this sad movie churns out. But when you reach the dreadful third act, you’ll have exhausted yourself.”
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Woman in Cabin 10 is described as a pulpy mystery-thriller with a fun premise but uneven execution.
IMDb says The Woman in Cabin 10 was a “perfectly fine easy watch Netflix thriller” adding that “Keira Knightley gives a strong performance that rises above the material”.
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