A Brief And Better-Late-Than-Enever Review Of ‘Undone’

I knew I would probably like Laura Enever’s Undone, but I did not expect to walk away feeling like I could relate to a big wave pro surfer—a sect of surfing that always seemed to be so mind-meltingly confronting that it was out of touch with the human experience. Most big wave surf videos I’ve seen reinforce the god-like qualities and not-a-shadow-of-a-doubt, do-or-(literally)-die mentalities. But Undone is a beautiful portrait of Laura Enever as a fucking gnarly, but relatable, and imperfect human. 

By nature, surf movies convey a sense of the sublime that the average viewer will probably never experience firsthand. But not all surf movies are carried through by the insane footy and charming personality of Laura Enever, who transforms the typical surf movie trope into an engaging portrait of an outstanding individual that left me an even bigger fan than when I started the movie. 

Laura’s described ‘big personality’ can turn hammy in moments of stress, like at the end of their WA road trip misadventure when she kisses the ground upon arrival. But even the corniness is relatable because it’s authentic. In moments of stress she does not have that creepy too-calm reaction of many a macho media-trained pro athlete. 

Otherwise, the film largely avoided a lot of the classic surf movie clichés. I was so happy not to skip through another extended workout montage or long explanation of what Laura eats to make her even more super-human. There were also no long testimonies from her parents about how she always had surfing in her blood. Although, this did leave me wondering about her personal history. 

Undone is a great portrayal of how someone winds up with such a niche passion, going from surfing the pro tour to getting towed into big waves. But the explanation did not rely on the “Laura’s just not like the other girls,” tip. Instead, the viewer sees how she is just like any person who is constantly pushing their limits and who is always up for a challenge—this challenge just happens to be riding a building-sized wave pumping hundreds of tons of pressure. 

Watch Undone here.