Many of us, especially those in school, have read the tale of "Moby Dick", the iconic story by Herman Melville that tells the tale of Captain Ahab relentlessly trying to kill a white sperm whale, which destroyed his previous voyage and cut off his leg below the knee. It's a story that we've seen in countless parodies and re-adaptations throughout the last century, but director Ron Howard ("Apollo 13" and "A Beautiful Mind") took it upon himself to create a different version of the "Moby Dick" story and took from the pages of real life. Instead of adapting the famous novel, Howard opted to remaking the true story that inspired "Moby Dick" for the big screen. Does it hold any water or will it violently sink like the ship featured in the film? A little bit of both to be honest.
"In the Heart of the Sea" stars Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy and Tom Holland and is directed by Ron Howard. In the film, sailor Thomas Nickerson, played by Brendan Gleeson, recounts the story of First Mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), Captain George Pollard, Jr. (Benjamin Walker) and his crew, facing off against an angry bull sperm whale that tore their ship apart, to a young Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw), who would later write the story of "Moby Dick" based on Nickerson's story. Thankfully, under Ron Howard's direction, the film's standard yet traditional style of storytelling never felt contrived or tiring as the story progresses with its cast giving wonderful performances mixed with some breathtaking cinematography and visual effects. Chris Hemsworth continues to be a great leading man and Ron Howard never fails to bring hard-hitting dramatic moments, making the film one of the most heart-wrenching dramas of 2015. It is an epic tale that is both beautiful and haunting.
In 2013, Chris Hemsworth and Ron Howard collaborated together for the first time in the film "Rush", which centered on the rivalry between two race car drivers. Now in 2015, it seems that they both have done something even more incredible. Although the portrayed character of First Mate Owen Chase is something we've seen plenty of times before, Hemsworth brings his charm and physicality into his role and really sells every emotion and hardship this man is facing. Chase is a man of survival in this film and Hemsworth effortlessly portrays a man struggling to keep himself and his stranded crew alive. Without spoiling anything about the film (although this is a true story so if you've read any articles about these men, there really wouldn't be any surprises for you in this film), Hemsworth has really broken himself to play the role of Chase for the film. Bringing out the physicality of a man desperately trying to survive on the silver screen is definitely no easy task. In all, Hemsworth, while not having the most spot on accent in the film, was absolutely magnetic and was a driving force that kept the film sailing high and mighty.
Luckily, Chris Hemsworth was not the only one in the film giving one heck of a performance. Virtually everyone in the supporting cast gives it their all and really makes us believe the turmoils they are going through on this perilous journey. The one surprising performance that caught me completely by surprise was from actor Tom Holland, who many of you know will be playing Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Holland, who plays a younger Thomas Nickerson, brought a sense of innocence and youth into the film and stole every moment he was on screen. Usually having an actor so young in a film like this would end up being a disaster, but Holland, having the right balance of maturity and adolescence, helped pave the film's way to greatness. However, while the rest of the cast, including Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy and more, gave realistic performances, they aren't quite as memorable as Hemsworth and Holland was. The rivalry between Hemsworth and Walker's character was one of the more intriguing parts of the film but the rest of the sailors on the ship are sadly mostly forgettable and end up being nothing but whale fodder. While Holland and Walker shine through the rest of the supporting cast, the other sailors on the Essex were unfortunately not as memorable or interesting as the other characters, which does make certain events down the line less intense and heartbreaking.
Ron Howard's traditional style of storytelling is rather effective, for the most part. There is a common theme throughout the film about how man cannot do anything to stop the force of nature. We as men are powerless against the great impact of the ocean's waves and against a creature that's bigger than life itself. Howard depicts a grand sense of scale, which, although looking very computer generated at times, is quite powerful. It was a perfect balance of suspense and awe. I would say that the film does take a long time to get started however. The first act of the film was not as engaging as the 2nd and 3rd acts as they started spearing down these whales. It isn't until the giant bull sperm whale appears that the film actually becomes engaging, which is definitely something they should have worked on in the script. Unlike films like "Jaws" or "Jurassic Park" where they hide the monsters or creature for suspense, "In the Heart of the Sea" never has that sense of suspense when the creature is not on screen. When the whale appears and attacks the boats, it's very frightening, but every time it goes back into the depth and doesn't show its face, we never feel its presence. That sense of something lurking somewhere in the depths that "Jaws" captured so well is sadly not present in this film. However, Ron Howard didn't shy away from tackling very difficult scenes in a masterful way. The final act of this film is hard to watch but also just so incredibly beautiful at the same time, which is something only directors like Ron Howard could achieve.
While the pacing and scripting of "In the Heart of the Sea" weren't perfect, the jaw-dropping special effects more than compensate for the film's flaws. It creates a beautiful sense of wonder mixed with terrifying and haunting visuals. The whales in the film look absolutely fantastic and are a just glorious to see on the big screen. The special effects team captures the weight/scale of these majestic creatures in a tremendous ways and seeing them crashing and attacking these 19th century boats was something out of a "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, but not in a cheesy sense. The camera work and the CGI painted some of the most gorgeous and ominous pictures we've seen in 2015, however I do feel like the film did look very artificial at times. There were moments where the whales looked extremely realistic and other times where we can clearly see that their skins are a little too smooth to be real. I wished some of the effects could have been a little more polished in the end product but those were only mere moments in the film so it didn't distract from the overall film too much.
Although this won't be a modern classic, Ron Howard's "In the Heart of the Sea" is an entertaining yet painful [in a good way] film to watch with stellar performances from its remarkable cast and beautiful cinematography and special effects that compliment the story in a beautiful way. As mentioned before, some of the film does have a problem with pacing and underusing some of its supporting characters to make them more memorable or relatable, but the cast, cinematography, direction, special effects and messages of the film were all done beautifully. Is it a perfect film? No. Is it one I would recommend seeing? Yes. Definitely, yes. I'd give "In the Heart of the Sea" a 7 out of 10.
Go see it now in IMAX 3D, 3D, and 2D!
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