Moxie Review of And the Sea Will Tell

And the Sea Will Tell (1991 TV Movie)

Unsolved true murder mystery/court drama will haunt you

[10/10 · 10 January 1999]

An able cast and good direction do a creditable job in this film based on famed attorney Vincent Bugliosi's non-fiction book, which describes both the crime and the trial (he represented the defendants). But more than anything else, it's the story itself that will keep your eyes glued to the screen for three hours. Yuppie couple sail to an isolated mid-Pacific island. Later, so does a hippie couple. After that, the hippie couple are arrested in Honolulu in possession of the yuppies' boat and a weak story. Investigation does not turn up the yuppies, their bodies, or the hippies' boat. Some time later, back at the island, a box washes onshore that contains the bones of the yuppy woman. The details are too numerous and mystifying to list here! The "plot" may seem to meander and include many digressions -- but that's because it's from real life! Even at three hours (made for TV, two instalments) the film can't include all the baffling elements. (You really should get the paperback!) If you stick with it and pay close attention, you'll find it not only entertainment, but also a challenge: What really happened? Who did it? This puzzle will haunt you, keep popping back into your mind, long after the movie ends. (Get the book!!)