A sound reflection of the tranquil art of fishing, Looking Through Water is a calm, simple drama about the complicated relationships between fathers, sons and brothers.
Now even more notable for being Michael Douglas‘s final screen role – the actor announcing his retirement earlier this year – Looking Through Water adopts a Princess Bride-like narrative framing device as Douglas’s William McKay takes his combative grandson, Kyle (Walker Scobell), out on a fishing trip, initially hoping to find out what’s troubling the young tyke, before earning his trust with a story of his own.
Fishing hasn’t always been a passion for William, as we find out during the film’s predominant story, a flashback to some 40-year-prior where a younger McKay (played by Michael Stahl-David) begrudgingly joins his father (David Morse) and right-hand Cole (Cameron Douglas, Michael’s real-life son) for a fishing competition in Belize; the expedition ultimately used as an excuse to escape his life, which, at the time, was in shambles due to a professional blow-up at work, spurred on by the revealed infidelity of his fiancé.
As even Kyle notes when listening to the story that he senses there’s more than what’s being revealed, Looking Through Water indeed has a few dramatic surprises up its sleeve across its 100-or-so minutes. And whilst the amount of family reveals in the Zach Dean–Rowdy Herrington–Bob Rich-penned script may be a little too coincidental and convenient from a melodramatic perspective, it doesn’t take away from the emotional weight of the story and how generational differences – no matter how they’re viewed from the individual – ultimately become clear through time, distance and perspective.
Why Cameron Douglas wasn’t cast as a younger Michael Douglas makes sense the more the story goes on, with his ultimate presence in the film proving quite poignant, and though some may feel as if Looking Through Water takes its time to get to the unspooling of its ingredients, director Roberto Sneider (who has directed numerous episodes of the series Acapulco and the US version of Shameless) enjoys the scenic route of such. There’s an undeniable charm to the gentle nature of Sneider’s plotting, made all the more so as encapsulated by the trustworthy Douglas, who delivers a healthy does of thespian topping to a film that delights in the fact that it’s aiming for a specific demographic; loud, distracting action be damned!
Simplistic and reflective, Looking Through Water doesn’t alter its genre in any drastic fashion, but sometimes the safety of a story being told by reliable talent – both behind and in front of the camera – is enough to warrant a recommendation. If this is truly Douglas’s swan song, he’s at least going out on a soothing note that speaks to his charm and undeniable presence.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Looking Through Water is now available on VOD in the United States.
