Three stars. Rated PG-13, for dramatic intensity, startling violence and considerable peril
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 12.11.15
The ingredients are sure-fire: a
fascinating, fact-based narrative; a plot that demands bravery and ghastly
sacrifice by the men involved; a solid cast led by Chris Hemsworth, who makes
ample use of his steely, blue-eyed resolve; and everything under the capable
guidance of seasoned director Ron Howard.
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| Facing an undeniably vengeful attack by a massive white sperm whale, ship's first mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth, foreground right) does his best to protect his men. Unfortunately, even he won't be able to prevent what's about to happen... |
And yet, In the Heart of the
Sea somehow fails to resonate. Too many of the characters are defined solely
by one-dimensional tics; the storyline is completely predictable; and the
interpersonal squabbles are the stuff of trite cliché, particularly the sniping
between Hemsworth’s first mate, Owen Chase, and their ship’s inexperienced and incompetent
captain, George Pollard (Benjamin Walker).
On top of which, the thoroughly
pointless 3D effects, added after the fact, do no favors to the otherwise
exemplary work by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. The entire film is too
dark and frequently looks washed out: the inevitable results of poor
post-production 3D processing.
Howard’s film too often feels
like a routine Boy’s Own Adventure Saga, albeit one granted a first-class
budget. Everybody hits their marks like a pro, but the result just isn’t very
involving: nowhere near as riveting as, say, Master and Commander: The Far
Side of the World, several big-screen versions of Mutiny on the Bounty, or
even the many British TV episodes of Horatio Hornblower.
Scripters Charles Leavitt, Rick
Jaff and Amanda Silver also play fast and loose with historical accuracy,
despite basing their screenplay on Nathaniel Philbrick’s meticulously
researched 2000 book, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship
Essex, which in turn is based on two published accounts by men who survived
the incident. The scripters cherry-picked some details, glossed over others,
and most particularly “adjusted” both Chase and Pollard for melodramatic
intensity.
Perhaps borrowing from a similar
technique in 1997’s Titanic, the saga is recounted in flashback via a framing
device that finds an aging Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), long ago the
Essex cabin boy, recounting these events to a certain Herman Melville (Ben
Whishaw).
It’s a cute touch — and Gleeson
and Whishaw display more acting chemistry than can be found in the film’s
primary storyline — but it’s totally bogus. Although these events definitely
helped inspire the 1851 publication of Moby-Dick, Melville wouldn’t have
needed to approach Nickerson for “the truth of the matter.” Chase’s own account
of the tragedy was published in 1821, shortly after his rescue and return to
his home in Nantucket.
Ah, well. Picky, picky, picky,
right?
We’re introduced to Chase, a
capable and thoroughly experienced whaler, as he bids farewell to his wife
(Charlotte Riley) in anticipation of a lengthy voyage on the Essex. Chase
expects to be named captain, but the ship’s mercantile owners renege on an
earlier promise, instead giving command to the callow Pollard, scion of a
prominent whaling family. (Cue a nod to countless war films that have forced
seasoned sergeants to accept the often stupid and catastrophic orders of
similarly young and ill-equipped lieutenants.)
The Essex crew is a mostly motley
lot, although game for whatever orders come their way. Aside from the much
younger Thomas Nickerson (now played by Tom Holland), the few stand-outs
include Chase’s longtime friend Matthew Joy (Cillian Murphy), a recovering
alcoholic; Thomas’ teenage friend Barzillai Ray (Edward Ashley); and the ship’s
cook, William Bond (Gary Beadle).
Right out of the gate, Pollard
displays his idiocy by steering the Essex directly into the path of a nasty
squall, leaving the ship seriously damaged. Rather than return to port, Chase talks
Pollard into continuing their essential mission to fill the hold with precious
whale oil; although the two men already despise each other, Chase pragmatically
points out that they’ll both fare better, back home, if they can return fully
laden.
(In real life, Pollard and Chase
already had served together; if they weren’t friends, they certainly respected
each other as capable colleagues. But, then, Chase was only 23 when the Essex
went out for the final time, which would be a stretch for 32-year-old Hemsworth.)
Adding insult to injury, Chase
also must contend with the insubordinate and insufferably smug Henry Coffin
(Frank Dillane), added to the crew solely because he’s Pollard’s young cousin.
Dillane ladles his character’s smarmy qualities with a trowel; it’s hard to
imagine the rest of the men so casually tolerating such a useless little jerk.
The voyage doesn’t go well;
months later, the Essex has little oil to show for its efforts. Then, after
having rounded Cape Horn, Pollard and Chase learn of a South Pacific “sweet
spot” laden with whales. Despite warnings from a Spanish ship captain (Jordi
Mollá) who lost his vessel to “a monster,” the Essex heads for this rich
hunting ground.
And destiny.
Acknowledging our modern
sensibilities, Howard’s depiction of the Essex crew’s whaling activities is
restrained: just mildly graphic, in order to get the point across. A few
details are genuinely fascinating, in a repulsive way: most notably the means
by which poor Nickerson must recover the final gallons of oil from their first
successful kill.
There’s also a strong suggestion
that what follows results from protective rage; the surprise attack by a huge
white sperm whale comes on the heels of a harpoon that injures this great
beast’s mate, and threatens their much smaller calf. Knowing of a whale’s
intelligence, as we now do, that’s not a difficult leap; Howard certainly makes
it easy to sympathize with these mighty ocean mammals.
The narrative also is gently
instructive, particularly in terms of depicting the era’s reliance on whale
oil, and the resulting necessity for this dangerous business model.
What follows is both grim and
suspenseful, albeit more in the abstract; we genuinely care about Chase,
Nickerson and a few other characters, but the rest are little more than the
kindling tossed into the air — and into the sea — each time the huge whale
head-butts the Essex, or smashes the ship with its massive tail.
The narrative then enters a lengthy
second act, which in a way is much more interesting: These men are thousands of
miles from known land, and yet at least some of them are destined to survive.
How?
Hemsworth is well cast as the
capable hero, imbued with both intelligence and sensitivity; it’s easy to
imagine the Essex crew following such a charismatic first mate. On the other
hand, it’s hard to get a bead on Walker’s Pollard; we can’t tell whether his
idiotic orders spring from insecurity, jealousy or just plain stupidity.
We definitely feel for young
Nickerson, and Holland nails the role. Murphy earns our sympathy as well,
particularly for the way in which he constantly tries to avoid succumbing to
his raging desire for a drink.
The film certainly looks great
... or at least it would, if we could see it better. Production designer Mark
Tildesley does wonders with his depiction of Nantucket, and the sequences aboard
the Essex feel quite real. The claustrophobic ship’s interior is nightmarish,
particularly once the vessel starts taking on water; special effects supervisor
Mark Holt turns this into a disaster of nightmarish proportions.
Editors Daniel P. Hanley and Mike
Hill maintain a reasonable level of suspense, although some of that is undercut
by the overly melodramatic squabbles that continue between Chase, Pollard and
Coffin.
No question, this is a great
story ... but it isn’t a great film. In the Heart of the Sea is much more
likely to send curious viewers to the extensive source material, which I
suspect they’ll find far more compelling.
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