In Enemy Hands by Gary W. Rad

December 2004

The long awaited World War II submarine drama finally made its American debut in October 2004 on DVD, courtesy of Lions Gate. The 2003 film was released theatrically in parts of Europe but wound up direct-to-video in this country for some unknown reason. Running a brisk 98 minutes, IN ENEMY HANDS (formerly titled U-BOAT) is never boring. The film stars William H. Macy, Til Schweiger, Thomas Kretschmann, Scott Caan, Lauren Holly,  Jeremy Sisto and Ian Somerhalder (billed 14th in the opening credits, but he gets more screen tiome that you would expect). The movie was directed by Tony Giglio and produced by Julius Nasso (he of the Steven Seagal shakedown allegations lawsuit). 

The film opens with an effective black and white montage which sets the historical background of the German Navy's U-Boats and their great success in the early part of the war. Set in 1943, IN ENEMY HANDS tells the story of two submarines at war, one German, the other American. Scott Caan (son of James Caan) gives a wooden performance as the Captain of the American sub with William H. Macy his second-in-command. Among the crewmembers are Jeremy Sisto (in an effective but underwritten role) and our own Ian Somerhalder as Danny Miller, who appears to be the youngest sailor on board and is in charge of laundry services.  After the American sub (the U.S.S. Swordfish) goes to sea with its rookie Captain, the crew (including Captain of Boat Nate Travers played by Macy) begin to suffer under the ego of the Scott Caan character who pushes them relentlessly on drills to improve their response time. After seeing some battle, the U.S.S. Swordfish is sunk by a German U-Boat and the 8 surviving Americans are brought onto the German sub as prisoners. Unbeknownst to the Germans, however, the captives are also bringing abroad a contagious outbreak of fatal meningitis. The Americans are stripped naked and paraded to their holding area on the U-Boat. Tensions arise among the German crew who don't want the Americans aboard their vessel with food supplies already running low. As the days pass, two thirds of the German sailors succumb to meningitis and the German Captain Jonas Herdt (played by Til Schweiger in the film's best performance) decides to overrule his assistant Ludwig Cremer (Thomas Kretschmann in another strong portrayal) and enlists the Americans to help man the submarine in order to gain their freedom. Unexpected consequences result as the former enemies begin to build bonds and act together in their mutual interest. Naturally, a rogue German element among the U-Boat's crew has other plans and seeks to sabotage this arrangement of convenience, leading to a suspenseful climax and some tragic events.

The basis premise of IN ENEMY HANDS is the use (and abuse) of power by the two young submarine Captains (both ably assisted by older second-in-commands). Scott Caan, in an overly measured and flat performance, is clearly overshadowed by the great William H. Macy, who is able to convey great emotion with his world weary eyes  (and whose memories of his home life with wife Lauren Holly keeps his character motivated and focused). Til Schweiger gives a bravado performance as the German Captain and Thomas Kretschmann is nearly as good as the number two man. Both actors play their parts in their native German language (as well as in English when dealing with their captives) and acquit themselves well either way. Their relationship is the highlight, I think, of the film. Schweiger is a confident and charismatic actor. There are plenty of subtitles to translate the German into English (for those who like to read) and it makes the film more authentic. This is a very interesting story with plenty of drama and excitement and a touch or two of pathos as well. But dramatic license wins out over reality as these events are strictly of the fictional variety. The scenes involving William H. Macy and the two German commanders show some fine acting and are the dramatic core of the film. There are enough twists and turns to keep viewers interested and I particularly liked the final scene between William H. Macy and Thomas Kretschmann.

And what of Ian Somerhalder, you may ask ? The role of Danny Miller is not a large one but he gets a couple of good scenes and plenty of close-up reaction shots. Plus he is usually standing next to William H. Macy (smart boy !) so this contributes to his screen time. Danny Miller is a good kid, longing for his wife and child back home. His best scene involves an exchange of family photographs with one of the German sailors. He also expresses hysteria well when he tells his fellow captives what the Germans do to their prisoners and when he's pulled into duty as the radio/sonar operator during the climactic battle scene. Ian is not the buff Paul Denton (from THE RULES OF ATTRACTION) here. He's somewhat thin and heavily stubbled but even when he's covered by grime there's no mistaking that face. He's part of an ensemble in this film and pulls it off well.

Jeremy Sisto has one or two good scenes and is the tallest American which lends a physical presence to his role. Lauren Holly, in the film's only female role, is all dolled-up in 1940's glam and has some scenes with William H. Macy which provide the basis for his character's motivation and will to live.

There are lots of vomiting scenes and plenty of meningitis rash views among the victims plus one use of the nefarious "F" word to earn this film an "R" (restricted) rating. It's a low budget but effective thriller (although nowhere in the same league as DAS BOOT). The special effects are good. The director utilizes split screen sometimes (but Roger Avary did a better job with this on THE RULES OF ATTRACTION) but, otherwise, the film has little artistic style to it. The Lions Gate DVD is a bare bones edition presenting a widescreen transfer with decent sound and picture but little else. There are no deleted scenes, documentaries or commentary tracks...just several trailers for other Lions Gate movies.

Best line by DANNY MILLER (Ian S.) in this film, while showing a photograph of his family :  "Yeah. That's Vivian and Danny Junior. Looks like me, huh ?"

Best lines in the movie (spoken by two of the other American prisoners while being served their first meal by the Germans) :  "What the hell is this ?"   "My guess is pig balls and chicken guts if we're lucky !"

RATING-  2 1/2 stars out of 5

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