The Woman in Cabin 10 Parent Guide

Burned out from covering stories of brutality and inhumanity, reporter Laura Blacklock (Keira Knightley) needs a break. It looks like the perfect story is at hand: she’s just been invited to cover a three-day fundraising cruise on a luxury yacht.

Norwegian heiress Anne Lyngstad (Lisa Loven Kongsli) is dying of cancer and is determined to raise money for other cancer patients. To that end, her husband Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce) has filled their new yacht with the rich and famous – and a journalist (Laura) and photographer (Laura’s ex, Ben, played by David Ajala) to make sure the whole world can witness the on-board philanthropy.

Laura is slightly overwhelmed by the luxurious surroundings, but the experience quickly darkens when Laura is woken in the middle of the night by the sounds of a quarrel in the adjacent cabin, quickly followed by a splash and scream.

When Laura raises the alarm, the crew swing into search mode, only to reassure her that every passenger is accounted for and she has clearly been mistaken about a drowning. But Laura knows she didn’t imagine the episode – and as passengers and crew treat her with labored patience, pity, or disdain, she feels increasingly gaslit.

The Woman in Cabin 10 isn’t the best mystery thriller ever filmed, but by Netflix’s standards, it’s pretty good. The plot borrows heavily from Agatha Christie’s mysteries - multiple suspects trapped in one location as bodies pile up - but this tale fails to provide backstories for the yacht’s passengers. Laura doesn’t so much deduce the solution to the mystery as stumble across it. The film is good at ramping up the tension and viewers will definitely feel Laura’s increasing fear and paranoia – although we never question her sanity or grip on reality.

The film’s production values are good and the cast all seem to be having a blast portraying badly behaved billionaires. Keira Knightley is excellent as the anxious, increasingly terrified journalist, and Lisa Loven Kongsli nails her complex role. But the movie is burdened by some significant plot holes, most glaringly of all, the wild improbability of the critical plot twist. On a less serious note, I must point out that the screenwriters clearly never took swimming lessons: if you jump into the ocean, the first thing you should do is kick off your shoes and heavy sweater: a wool or cotton sweater will quickly fill with water and weigh you down. You’re not going to wear it as you swim – and you’re not going to keep it on when you try to dry out by a fire. I nearly went insane watching this part of the story and kept shouting safety instructions at my TV.

If you’re more concerned about negative content issues, I can let you know that The Woman in Cabin 10 is a relatively soft “R” and is fine for most older teens. Unsurprisingly for a thriller, there is some violence, including brief drownings, several attempted chokings, and brief gun and knife threat. There are also few scenes of social drinking, and a bit of profanity. In fact, it’s the half dozen sexual expletives that are primarily responsible for the R-rating.

I don’t have any strong opinions about The Woman in Cabin 10. If you’re a fan of Keira Knightley or want a thriller that doesn’t require too much attention or mental energy, this movie might work for you. But the story won’t stick with you for long.

About author

Kirsten Hawkes

Kirsten Hawkes has a BA in Political Science and English and has worked in international development and medical education and marketing. Kirsten enjoys reading, watching movies, and debating politics with her husband and sometimes unwilling children.