Alejandro Amenábar's The Sea Inside (2004) is based on the true story of a paralyzed man (Javier Bardem) who fought 28 years for the right to end his own life. Amenábar tackles yet another iffy subject with sentimentality. Luckily Amenábar sentimentality is excellent so that he never does it over-the-top, but handles it carefully. The film's characters are thoroughly explored and examined, which makes it a deep insight on how this man lived and how that affected everyone around him. The film's ethical content is carefully touched upon and it is handled in a great way - to say the least. The dialogue appears as pretentious which it could easily be, and that is due to the good writing and Bardem's magnificent performance. His subdued performance is heartbreakingly spot-on. He really gets to flex his acting muscles here. The form is unsurprisingly as usual for Amenábar. He sticks to certain patterns that are both good and bad. He never takes risks, and it leaves the film a little cold in comparison to its brilliant content.
Score: 7 out of 10
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