Same Boat (2020)

I am drawn to the idea of films which are shot in clandestine ways. Certainly documentaries have used this technique but I am only aware of a few examples of fiction stories. In this case, writer/director Chris Roberti assembled his cast and crew for Same Boat on a cruise ship and shot a film without anyone knowing that's what they were doing. While the film has a high dose of on the margins indie feel to it, it is quite remarkable in how much there were able to do without anyone knowing they were filming a movie.

But even if it didn't have that hook, the story idea behind Same Boat is intriguing. Central character James (also played by Roberti) is an assassin from the future whose job it is to go back in time and kill people who will go on to do bad things before they do it. But while on this job (which happens while his target is on a cruise ship) he falls in love with her and second guesses his career choice. The film is clever and poses some interesting questions. It's short run time allows the film to tell its story without getting lost down rabbit holes, instead focusing on the story and relationships.

As I said, Same Boat scores high on the indie feel. His cast are mostly unknowns (all the better to get away with filming secretly while on a cruise ship - imagine if George Clooney tried to do that) and many of them are fairly wet behind the ears. But Roberti and his co-lead are both strong enough to pull off the boundary pushing plot and make it feel real. They also make the relationship feel real which is essential to the story working. The side characters err on the side of being a little too ridiculous. The subplots are rather over the top. But they remain charming, especially the on board magician.

Time travel plots are always problematic as there is always a reason to pull the damn things apart. Roberti smartly stays away from explaining that too much, giving just enough explanation to make the film's version of time travel reasonable. In this end this doesn't distract from the enjoyable story and charming cast of characters.

And anyone who has been on a cruise will recognize the entire cheesy vibe and all the wackiness of such a vacation. Generally this little guerilla production pulls off it's mission with a satisfying story that asks some interesting questions about what it means to be a bad person, or maybe just a person.

Same Boat
Starring: Chris Roberti, Tonya Glanz, Evan Kaufman, Katie Hartman, Jeff Seal
Writer/Director: Chris Roberti