Directed by Matthew Losasso
Written by Matthew Losasso & Nick Skaugen

Row begins with Megan (Bella Dayne) washing ashore in a remote area of Ireland, the apparent sole survivor of an attempted record-breaking trans-Atlantic rowing excursion gone wrong. While recovering, memories of her doomed journey come back to her in fragments.

The premise of this film has so much going for it; four glory-desperate individuals, trapped with only each other on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean, is already a great setup for a psychological thriller, and adding in a potential murder mystery makes it extra interesting. But nearly two hours is too long a runtime for it. With there only being two settings in the movie – the boat in the middle of the ocean, and the guest house bedroom where Megan recovers- a lot is needed to hold the audience’s attention, and an hour and fifty-eight minutes is too much time to fill.

If the characters had been better fleshed out, the length might have been a little more tolerable, but while the cast is competent, with Sophie Skelton as the outgoing crew member Lexi and Akshay Khanna as the spoiled taskmaster Daniel giving the standout performances, the actors aren’t given enough to work with to make the roles more interesting.

The strongest feature of the movie is its sound; the score is sparse but eerie, with ocean wind and churning waves making up more of the soundtrack than any actual music. It helps develop an unnerving atmosphere, even if the story itself can’t carry that suspense. My one gripe is that the mixing seems a little uneven because, despite the score and sound effects being pretty bare, it drowns out the dialogue in several parts.

While the acting is fine, the scenery (shot in Caithness, Scotland) is occasionally lovely, and the score is creative, ROW is a slog of a movie that could have done with a lot more editing. I definitely can’t imagine revisiting this one.

ROW will hit UK cinemas on September 5th and will be available on DVD & digital platforms from September 29th

What are your thoughts on ROW?

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