The Woman in Cabin 10 Review: A Simple, Fast Thriller, Straight to the Point and Therefore Pleasant!

The Woman in Cabin 10 Review: Taken from the bestseller of the same name by Ruth Ware (published in 2016 and became an international publishing case), The Woman in Cabin 10 landed on Netflix from 10 October 2025 in a transposition directed by the director Simon Stone. The film, written by Stone himself together with Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, fits into the trend of psychological thrillers set in closed spaces, where tension arises not only from the enigma but from the progressive isolation of the protagonist. With a duration of about 95 minutes, the film chooses the path of synthesis: a tight story, set in a sparkling and disturbing microcosm, where the surface of luxury hides an abyss of lies.

One year after the success of the series “Black Doves,” Keira Knightley returns to Netflix with a new thriller ready to conquer the public again: “The Woman in Cabin 10”. Inspired by the bestseller of the same name by Ruth Ware and available on the streaming platform from October 10th, this film is a simple but effective mystery drama perfect for those who want to spend an evening full of twists, mysteries to solve and a crime to find an explanation, all without having to spend too much time in front of the TV or commit too much psychologically. But let’s go into more detail. Directed by Simon Stone and starring Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce, the film blends classic Agatha Christie mystery atmospheres with the language of contemporary psychological thriller. The result, however, is an elegant but irregular tale, more concerned with the aesthetics of mystery than its substance. A work that catches the eye but rarely the heart.

The Woman in Cabin 10 Review: The Story Plot

The plot of the new Netflix thriller sees the writer Laura Blacklock aboard a luxury cruise ship. Here, he witnesses the moment another passenger falls into the water. Nobody believes her when she tells what she saw. This is because the crew does a count of the people currently on board, and the number matches. No one seems to be missing, and Laura decides to start investigating. In addition, the crew assures her that cabin 10, where she is convinced there was a fight the previous night, is always empty. Furthermore, the blood print he had noticed on the glass dividing the two rooms also disappeared. Talking about it with Ben, her ex-photographer boyfriend, Laura examines the old photos and discovers that the woman She Saw in Cabin 10 Took Part in a party hosted by beneficiaries of the yacht, earlier in the year. One might initially suspect, therefore, Richard Bullmer, the owner of the ship. The latter’s wife, Anne, who invited her to take part in this trip, appears less talkative the next day, saying she is sick. We discover that the woman is dying due to a terminal illness, but still appears different than the previous evening.

The source material offered solid insights: the protagonist, Laura “Lo” Blackwood, is an investigative journalist marked by a recent trauma – the murder of a woman who collaborated in one of her investigations. To find balance, she agrees to board the cruise ship Aurora Borealis, invited to cover a charity event organized by tycoon Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce) and his ailing wife Anne (Lisa Loven Kongsli). But what was supposed to be a rehabilitation trip soon turns into a nightmare: during the night, Lo hears a scream, a thud, and sees a trail of blood coming from the next cabin – the infamous cabin number 10. The problem? No one is missing, and everyone insists that the cabin was unoccupied. Simon Stone, former author of The Dig, chooses a sober, almost theatrical direction, which favors formal control over instinct. A choice consistent with his background, but which deprives the film of the visceral tension necessary for a mystery of this type. The work seems more concerned with restoring the mental distress of the protagonist than with constructing a real collective conundrum.

The Woman in Cabin 10 Review and Analysis

With “The Woman in Cabin Number 10,” Netflix gives us fast and pleasant entertainment, and, in a world that tends to increasingly lengthen the duration of feature films, this brevity is a nice breath of fresh air. The strengths of the film? A compelling plot, twists, an interpreter of the caliber of Keira Knightley, but above all, a short and straight story to the point that, with just one and a half hours, she tells us everything she has to tell us, allowing us to enjoy a good thriller without “wasting” too much time in front of the TV. In fact, those looking for a mysterious, captivating, pleasant but above all fast film will find something for themselves in “Woman of Cabin Number 10”. Right, enjoyable, with a great lead and a good plot. “The Woman in Cabin 10” is a thriller, perhaps a bit “old-fashioned,” but definitely worth watching. Sometimes, after all, it’s good to look back a little, take a cue from the past, and bring some “vintage” vein into the contemporary world.

The film’s main strength lies in its narrative pace. In a panorama in which many thrillers expand into episodes and subplots, The Woman in Cabin 10 maintains a commendable balance: everything happens within an hour and a half, without digressions. The tension is managed with precision, and the editing effectively accompanies the protagonist’s crescendo of paranoia. However, this compactness has a downside: some turns are excessively accelerated. The psychological nuances of the novel are simplified, and the ambiguity that made the written page so disturbing is here compressed into a cinematic rhythm that favors action over reflection. Keira Knightley’s interpretation is the cornerstone of overall success. The actress finely balances fragility and determination, making the spiral of anxiety and suspicion that envelops the character credible.

Next to her, Guy Pearce elegantly embodies an ambiguous and mellifluous power, while the passengers of the luxurious yacht – deliberately drawn in a caricatural way – represent the grotesque face of wealth and superficiality. Visually, the film reaches greater heights. Ben Davis’ photography is splendid: the contrasts between golden interiors and the glacial landscapes of the Norwegian fjords create a Nordic noir atmosphere, where the metallic light and the reflections of the sea amplify the sense of claustrophobia. The ship thus becomes a floating prison, almost a luxury escape room, in which every closed door is a suspect.

Simon Stone’s direction remains sober but aware. He avoids unnecessary virtuosity and maintains a stylistic coherence that favors control over effect. The result is an elegant film, tense enough, with a clear identity and impeccable packaging, even if it lacks real authorial flair. The greatest limitation, therefore, lies in the adaptation itself: in the attempt to condense the novel into 95 minutes, the film sacrifices part of the psychological tension and moral ambiguities that constituted the heart of Ruth Ware’s text. However, the solidity of the staging and the rhythmic compactness make it a more than decent thriller.

The Woman in Cabin Number 10 is a solid genre film, well shot and interpreted with restraint, which offers an hour and a half of elegant entertainment, immersed in a suspended and chilly atmosphere. It doesn’t reinvent anything, but professionally executes the codes of the claustrophobic thriller, always maintaining high attention thanks to clean direction and a precisely calibrated rhythm. Although it lacks the psychological depth of the novel, it manages to convey a palpable sense of anguish and isolation, supported by excellent photography and a protagonist who is up to par. Keira Knightley, a chameleonic actress in herself, gives the film’s Lo a solid and credible presence, finely balancing determination and vulnerability, and keeping the viewer’s gaze alive even in the most doubtful moments.

Also noteworthy is the high-level technical work: the sound, calibrated with great care, amplifies the sense of closure and psychological tension, with the muffled noises of the interior, the constant hum of the sea, and the metallic crackling of the ship, which themselves become narrative elements. The minimalist soundtrack accompanies the story with discretion and intensity, reinforcing the anxiety-inducing dimension without ever overwhelming the images. In summary, an elegant, well-packaged, and visually fascinating thriller, which can be watched with pleasure even without memorable twists. Recommended quality evening viewing, perfect for this weekend: a little thrill among the fjords without moving from the sofa.

Keira Knightley is the beating heart (and often the only truly living element) of the film. His Lo is a worn-out, nervous woman, with the constant suspicion of no longer being in control of her own perception. Knightley works by subtraction: wavering glances, cracked voice, compulsive gestures that tell of a trauma that has never been fully elaborated. Yet, when the film asks her to turn into a detective, she manages to restore an authentic, almost painful determination. It is a performance that plays between strength and fragility, but which is sometimes suffocated by a script more interested in suggesting doubt than in exploring it. Next to her, Guy Pearce offers an elegant and ambiguous Richard Bullmer, while Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Ajala, and Hannah Waddingham are wasted in marginal roles. The ensemble cast, very rich on paper, ends up functioning more as upholstery than as a narrative engine.

The Aurora Borealis microcosm is populated by wealthy, decadent artists and plastic influencers, all potentially guilty and morally questionable. The dynamic “who did what” that characterizes chamber detective stories should explode here in a crescendo of cross-suspicions. But the screenplay – written by Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse, and Stone himself – he can never find a balance between introspection and rhythm. The central mystery soon dilutes into a sea of didactic dialogues and overly transparent clues. Enthusiasts of the genre will understand the truth well before the finale, and the final revelation lacks emotional power. The idea of “gaslighting” Lo — or trying to make her doubt her own sanity — remains interesting, but never fully explored.

Visually, the woman in Cabin Number 10 has an undeniable charm. The work of cinematographer Ben Davis plays with reflections, shiny surfaces, and cool hues, building an environment that becomes a mirror of the protagonist’s mental instability. However, the excess of visual control ends up flattening the emotion: photography is flawless but deadpan, like the elitist world it depicts. Benjamin Wallfisch’s soundtrack tries to give rhythm and drama, but clashes with too restrained direction. Where an author like Hitchcock would have dared with editing and point of view, Stone prefers composure, missing an opportunity to turn the film into a sensory experience. Under mystery, The Woman in Cabin Number 10 mentions an interesting discussion about inequality, power, and media manipulation. The protagonist, a “committed” journalist, represents ethics against the hypocrisy of billionaires who use philanthropy as a mirror for their own faults. However, this moral conflict remains only suggested. Criticism of the world of the rich and the complacent press surfaces, but never really has an impact.

The overall impression is that the film is afraid to fear becoming satire, fears being melodrama, and even fears being a thriller. And so, in prudence, he loses the possibility of being memorable. In the third act, the film reignites. The tension grows, the protagonist begins to put the pieces back together, and the truth –however predictable – arrives with a certain scenic taste. The setting of the final gala, with the ship anchored in the Norwegian fjords, offers the most evocative images of the film. But the resolution leaves a feeling of incompleteness: the psychological issues dissolve too quickly, and the characters’ motivations remain nebulous. The Woman in Cabin 10 then arrives in port as an elegant but unequal film, visually fascinating but narratively faltering. A mystery that lets itself be looked at, but does not leave its mark.

The key revelation comes roughly halfway through viewing, with the second half where the protagonist – one Keira Knightley little in part – he tries in every way to bring the truth to light, finding himself in a situation more and more dangerous. Even though the crime was perpetrated suffers from some illogicality and forcing, from appearing involuntarily comical when all the cards are finally put on the table. And what’s more, the story is full of essentially useless figures, which serve no purpose other than to lengthen the broth. Where one would expect frenetic editing, particular angles, and a photograph that reflects the journalist’s mental state, suspended at least initially in that limbo between reality and lies, instead, one is dealing with a surprisingly static staging devoid of any inventiveness. Standardized directorial solutions mortify every possible artistic inspiration until that showdown is too suspense-free or transport-free.

What makes everything even more frustrating is the treatment reserved for Laura’s trauma, introduced through an initial dialogue and a brief flashback. This narrative device, often abused to exhaustion in the relevant vein, serves here only to provide a pretext for doubting his sanity, although the public will soon do 2+2. The Woman in Cabin 10 proceeds on very rigid patterns: Ours discovers a clue, it is lost or questioned, she is more or less covertly threatened, and so on, in a vicious circle that goes nowhere. The protagonist runs back and forth for the yacht, interrogating suspects who suspect nothing, in an investigation that proceeds by inertia towards what should be a shocking revelation, but which instead leaves you completely indifferent.

The Woman in Cabin 10 Review: The Last Words

The Woman in Cabin Number 10 is an elegant but not very incisive psychological thriller. Keira Knightley shines in a complex role, but Simon Stone’s direction fails to inject real tension into a story that sinks into predictability. Between glittering yachts, family secrets, and growing paranoia, the film remains suspended between authorial ambition and streaming consumption. A psychological thriller devoid of personality and, above all, coherence, which moves on tracks as codified as they are worn out, faced with an oppressive rigidity and twists that lapse into the absurd if not the involuntary ridiculous. A fault undoubtedly to be shared with the novel at the base, at least in the narrative dynamics, but also in the staging of The Woman in Cabin 10, it stagnates in a series of obviousness that castrates tension in the bud. That sense of imminent danger is missing, the mystery behind the alleged crime witnessed by the protagonist is missing, and a cast of supporting actors and a noteworthy villain are missing. Keira Knightley does nothing but run back and forth to the main location of the film, a very luxurious yacht where some of the richest men in the world are gathered, and she, an investigative journalist, immediately turns out to be a fish out of water. For what is a shipwreck without ifs or buts, a clean and orderly aesthetic is not enough to justify the short ninety-minute viewing.

Cast: Keira Knightley, Guy Pearce, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Ajala, Hannah Waddingham, Kaya Scodelario, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Art Malik, David Morrissey, Amanda Collin, Paul Kaye

Directed: Simon Stone

Streaming Platform: Netflix

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars)