Black Sea stars Jude Law as Robinson, a submarine captain who, as the movie starts, is laid off from his job at a salvage company and ends up commiserating with his former workers who haven’t been employed in ages. In desperation, Robinson resorts to working with a shadowy backer who informs him there is a German submarine at the bottom of the Black Sea which is said to be loaded with gold.
Along with his friends, Robinson pilots a weathered submarine into that territory with the hope of a big pay day for everybody. But, as they get closer to their destination, one begins to wonder if they’ll fall victim to the crushing depths of the ocean or to their own increasing greed before they’re able to get their hands on the treasure.
Director Kevin Macdonald is as familiar as anyone with the great submarine movies of the past, like Run Silent Run Deep (a favorite of his), Das Boot and The Hunt for Red October, but he’s worked pretty hard to make Black Sea stand out amongst them. During our conversation at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, California, the filmmaker talked about how much of a character the submarine is in this movie, how he managed to pull Jude Law out of those romantic comedies to star as gritty sailor, and of the challenges he faced in shooting in such a small space.
Check out the interview in the video above and be sure to catch Black Sea when it swims into theatres this Friday!