By Emma Coleman, Film and TV Subeditor
The Woman in Cabin 10 (2025) is a psychological thriller based on the Ruth Ware novel by the same name. It is a whirlwind of suspense, rich-people-snobbery and ultimately exposure. Set on an incredible yacht and isolated in the middle of the sea, you would be surprised (or not so surprised) at what people are willing to do for money.
Starring Keira Knightley, as a renowned journalist called Laura Blacklock, as well as Kaya Scodelario, Hannah Waddingham and Guy Pearce, we already have high expectations from such a star-studded cast. Laura, looking for a break from the pressures of journalist life, ventures onto Richard Bullmer’s (Guy Pearce) boat to cover a story on his charity event for Anne (Lisa Loven Kongsli), his sick wife. She does not realise that this in fact will be the most intense experience of her journalist career – conducting a murder investigation and almost losing her life.
I have read many reviews criticising the acting in this film, for example that the ‘cardboard quality of the drama gets soggy’; it also scored a measly 26% on Rotten Tomatoes – so here I am to provide a defence of a film I truly enjoyed.
The secluded setting of being trapped at sea worked amazingly to intensify the movie’s genre as a thriller – I was at the edge of my seat as Laura leapt into the water to escape her impending death. The ocean freaks me out at the best of times (cruises aren’t for me), never mind with a group of billionaires out to get me. The parallel to the scene where Anne’s body slowly drifts away in the dark water after Richard has killed her her is so powerful – I really felt a sense of justice in Laura escaping in the same way, and going on to expose Richard’s heinous crime of murdering his sick wife.
I have gotten ahead of myself and, plot spoiler coming, this was to replace her with an actress (Carrie played by Gitte Witt) to forge himself as the sole receiver of all her assets in her will, after she had decided to put them all into a charity foundation. I honestly did not see this coming, and that was my favourite part, because I am normally quite good at guessing the big ‘twist’. My brain went down the route of a classic 'rebellious daughter hidden from society' trope when I first saw Carrie hidden in cabin 10, but this was much, much better.
Another massive trope in this film is the ‘nobody believes me but I know the truth’, that we see in other films like Don’t Worry Darling (2022). As the audience we find this so frustrating and feel Laura’s desperation to be believed deeply. Intensified by her journalistic instincts, it is so satisfying to watch her conduct her own investigation, gathering evidence and interrogating others, as she slowly makes her way towards the truth. I literally could not stop watching because I myself was anxious to know where the story was going. Even when Laura’s ex-boyfriend Ben (David Ajala) essentially told her to ‘give it a rest’, she kept going, even when her life was on the line.
Tom Foley
On that note, the one part of this film I did not like was Ben’s death. When he got off the speed-boat refusing to leave Laura stranded on board, I thought, oh no, I know where this is going. And, unsuprisingly, in the nick of time he saved Laura from a lethal injection but instead received it himself. I hate when characters are killed off unnecessarily in any film or TV show, and I just felt like the story would have been just as good if he simply helped her escape – but at the same time the sisterhood between Laura and Carrie when they exposed Richard at the gala was a truly amazing demonstration of female power, that Ben (love him) did not need to be a part of.
Overall, I felt like the plot of The Woman in Cabin 10 was phenomenal and the staging, music, and cinematography created an amazing state of suspense within me. However, I do not disagree that the acting fell flat in places, especially in the scene showing the reactions after Danny (Paul Kaye) left the boat and everyone was blaming Laura, but this did not overpower the overall brilliance of the film.
Featured Image: IMDB / The Woman in Cabin 10
What did you think of The Woman in Cabin 10?
