‘The Gorge’ Review: Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller in an Apple TV+ Sci-Fi Romance That’s Too Sweet for Its Own Good

In The Gorge, a perfunctory sci-fi romance starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller, elite snipers are tasked with guarding a ravine in a remote region of the Northern Hemisphere. No one assigned to watch over this area knows exactly what lies in it, but each new custodian is briefed on its dangers. If anything were to escape from the gorge, not even the combined military prowess of the most developed nations would be able to stop it. As a result, those entities have instituted preventive measures. 

“You are more like a highly trained maintenance man,” J.D. (Sope Dirisu), a jovial army veteran, says to Levi (Teller), a former military shooter recently recruited to watch over the gorge by a mysterious agent (Sigourney Weaver), when they trade posts. The stoic sniper, plagued by nightmares of his deadliest kills, doesn’t quite understand the mission. He’s got a lot of questions about the area, the job and why the Western stewards aren’t allowed to contact the person manning the gorge’s east side. But J.D. doesn’t have many answers: After a year of isolation, the guy’s just excited to re-enter civilization. 

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Directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Doctor Strange) from a screenplay by Zach Dean, The Gorge follows Levi as he establishes a life in this isolated region and, against the rules of the mission, contacts his counterpart on the Eastern side of the valley. Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy), a misanthropic Lithuanian sniper, has been given similar instructions but seems less curious about the mission. She’s more fascinated by Levi, his understated disposition, his record shots and the poems he writes to quiet his mind. Their low-key friendship, initiated on Drasa’s birthday, soon blooms into an endearing romance. 

One of the more compelling threads of The Gorge is that for most of their relationship, Levi and Drasa communicate through notes, which they can see with the help of their long-distance binoculars. Working with DP Dan Laustsen (The Shape of Water, Nightmare Alley), Derrickson stages these moments with the whimsical touch of typical rom-coms. Their love story progresses over various montages, which show the pair writing questions and answers on big notepads and white boards. They toast to each other, pilfering alcohol from their respective stashes, play chess and practice shooting from a very long distance. The company helps them both, especially Levi, who continues to be haunted by nightmares of his early kills.

There’s something impressive about seeing two actors establish chemistry through calibrated facial expressions and body language. Taylor-Joy, with her aspirational Eastern European accent, and Teller are both fine in their roles, reveling in the humor of two people who can see each other but not speak. 

Oddly, the introduction of dialogue presents new problems for The Gorge. After Drasa experiences a particularly hard day, Levi endeavors to meaningfully comfort her. He successfully finds a way to the other side, ending the couple’s long-distance relationship. There’s an understandable awkwardness in their early physical encounter, but it doesn’t lead to anything more natural. Instead, The Gorge and its central couple proceed stiffly. 

The film’s general rigidity and lack of thrills become more apparent when Levi accidentally falls into the gorge. A terrified Drasa goes after him, and what the two find in the cavernous abyss is unsettling. The world beneath them is a trap of mutated insects, noxious gases and skeletal monsters that bear some resemblance to the White Walkers in Game of Thrones. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ music adds to the eeriness of this disquieting atmosphere. Derrickson offers a handful of memorable shots and genuine jump scares, but the director’s attempts to build dread in these moments come too late to have their intended impact. With so much of the film dedicated to establishing Levi and Drasa’s backstory and their romance, The Gorge is slow to get going on the action. 

Once Levi and Drasa realize their recruitment is part of a greater conspiracy, the revelations are presented in clunky exposition that can be hard to follow. That’s a shame, because many of the ideas in The Gorge — about soldiers as pawns and the wide reach of the military — would have been good fodder for a nervy sci-fi. But when the film finally gets around to those ideas, our heroes have about as much time as we do patience.