Channel Crossing: A Business Trip Gone Weird

Should you watch Channel Crossing? If you like old-school British dramas where men in suits shout about money while standing on boats, sure. If you need pacing that feels like it exists in the 21st century, skip it. This isn't exactly The Crash, even if it tries to tap into that same frantic energy of impending financial ruin.

The whole premise feels like something cooked up in a boardroom. Our lead tycoon is basically a caricature of 'I need to make this deal happen or the world ends.' It's funny because the world usually doesn't end, but nobody told him that. He spends the whole movie acting like a guy who just drank twelve cups of coffee.

There is a sequence on the water that just... sits there. It’s quiet. Maybe a bit too quiet. You can tell they were trying to capture this grand sense of scale, but it mostly just feels like watching a very expensive ferry ride. One of the supporting actors spends the entire scene looking at his shoes. Was he bored? Probably. I was too for a second.

Then there's the dialogue. It's stiff. It’s got that weird, stilted rhythm you only find in movies from this era where everyone sounds like they're reading from a pamphlet on how to be important. It reminded me a little of Marriage for Convenience, but with way more salt water and fewer laughs.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Channel Crossing (1933) through its definitive frames.

Oddly specific note: There is a shot near the middle where a character drops a hat. Nobody acknowledges it. The camera just stays on the hat on the deck for like, ten seconds. It felt like a mistake, but I couldn't stop looking at it. Did it fall off the table? Did the wind take it? It’s the most interesting thing that happens for ten minutes.

The value system shift that happens at the end? Yeah, it’s a bit of a stretch. We’re supposed to believe he’s suddenly a changed man because he spent a few hours on a boat? Okay, sure. If you say so.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even really a 'good' movie by modern standards. But there’s something about the way they film these people—so serious, so desperate—that makes it worth a look if you’ve got an hour to kill and want to feel like you’re sitting in a dusty theater from 1933.

• The boat sounds like it’s struggling more than the characters.
• Too many scenes involve people standing near railings.
• The leading man’s eyebrows do more acting than his mouth.
• It really, really wants you to care about a business contract. I didn't.

It’s fine. It’s just fine. Don't go in expecting Number 17 levels of excitement. Just go in expecting a boat, some suits, and a lot of talk about money.