I had high hopes from this movie based on the description and I also enjoy Sean Astin as an actor so I thought it would be pretty good. I was wrong. First of all, it didn't really have any sense of adventure or suspense like I thought it would. While it did explore topics that I feel are important to delve into, it just wasn't done in a manner that was effective enough to capture interest or elicit emotion. The movie is very dialogue heavy and that dialogue is just not engaging in my opinion. I kept waiting for more to happen, but more never came.

I read about the story before watching the movie. It reminded me a movie I really liked, Against The Sun, about three soldiers trying to survive on a lifeboat after their bombardier crashed into the ocean. So I gave The Surface a shot. And what a disappointed that became. It's a really awful movie. The two main characters played by Sean Astin and Chris Mulkey have pointless and boring conversations on a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan. The acting is also pretty bad. Sean Astin looks like an actor from a B-movie and Chris Mulkey sometimes just mumbles something that is very hard to understand. Their endless boring conversations about their pathetic life will bore you to death. I could not wait for this movie to end and so to put an end to my misery. Avoid this movie at all cost and watch Against The Sun instead if you want to watch something similar but then with a good story.

Being an older person, I remember when serious acting was still the expectation of good movies, before special effects were given the priorities. This film is a very good and believable study of how two very different men might be brought together in very fantastically different circumstances. The fact that in the ending credits the note is made that the events of the film are based on actual happenings does much to explain and reinforce some of my personal beliefs about "pre-destination" and possibly "Divine" intervention. The main actors did an excellent job, considering the limitations of being pretty much a two actor film for most of the movie, and how the chance meeting of the two would change their lives forever.I strongly suggest you might overlook some of the films negative ratings and see it for the very good film it is.

This is an important story to watch...very moving. Sadness and loneliness and depression are everyday issues in our society, and we should learn from this movie and try to better ourselves in our everyday real life.This movie leads to great discussion points, and challenges us to react, think, and do better.A very moving introspective story.The Surface just tease us to get to the surface of very important emotional issues that are everyday. The lead characters, including Sean do a great acting job here and should be complemented in telling this sad story!