As a disaster picture, Pressure makes no compromises regarding content or style. Occasionally the camera jitters, hallucinations unfold and revelations take place which might stop a lesser film in its tracks. Not so with this one because a little character shading can make the difference between a good film and the best kind. 

There's something comforting about the ocean, a sense of liberation. By contrast, the workers that fix oil and gas pipelines rely upon experience. While conducting routine maintenance, a four man saturation diving team end up stranded in the Indian Ocean. A storm cuts off any chance for immediate rescue. Given the lack of oxygen in their submersible, they must rally every resource to survive.

Adding razor-sharp emphasis, editors Jake Roberts and Johnny Rayner make some major discoveries in terms of emotional involvement. For every reaction shot, stunt, montage or character building sequence, there are hundreds of tiny opportunities for depth and subtlety to emerge. In short, these qualities rise into a substantial dramatic shape.

Evidently, the cinema can operate like a short story or novella. Given enough backbone or skeletal structure, the writer/director can embellish such material with their own ideas. Despite Pressure being an original screenplay, it carries such novelty in its bloodstream.

Penned by Louis Baxter, Alan McKenna and Paul Staheli, this film grapples with human anxieties akin to climbing Mount Everest.

At first, Benjamin Wallfisch's score -- very disappointing in isolation -- conveys barely noticeable humming. However, major turning points inspire unpredictable layers of musical intrigue. There are two or three spots where his work becomes a transcendent force both singular and collective.

As Engel, Danny Huston delivers a taut, charismatic portrayal deeply embedded with human feeling. He's haunted by a tragic incident, and this moral underpinning drives the narrative in unexpected ways. Dutifully, Mitchell (Matthew Goode) pulls his weight, yet he's far from a mindless busybody. The story about his wife and the desperation he feels about getting home can be read in those fearful eyes. Although leadership involves being strong, fractures occur leading to heartfelt compromises.

With scenes equivalent to a page-turning best seller, Pressure induces authenticity through every worried line, bead of sweat and gasp for air. How they achieved the final stunt deserves its own "making of" chapter. Overall, director Ron Scalpello has crafted a staggering dramatic capsule which everyone on earth should witness... at least twice.

(Released by Vertical Entertainment and rated "R" for some disturbing images and graphic nudity. )