Director Ron Howard — whose résumé leans toward uplifting, can-do dramas such as Apollo 13, Cinderella Man and Rush — seems a very odd choice for this fact-based saga of deplorable, depraved and misanthropic human behavior.
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| Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law) and longtime companion Dore Strauch (Vanessa Kirby) are less than thrilled, when they suddenly must share their island with a family of know-nothing newcomers. |
German physician Friedrich Ritter and his patient-turned-companion, Dore Strauch, were the first “settlers” to arrive on the Galapagos’ Floreana Island in 1929: so chosen since it is one of the few with a (minimal) potable water supply. They spent three contented — if arduous — years as the island’s sole inhabitants. Ritter sent accounts of their lives back to Germany — picked up by occasional passing ships, and then published in newspapers and magazines — and pounded away at an increasingly Nietzschesque manifesto detailing his contempt for mankind.
They were joined in 1932 by WWI veteran Heinz Wittmer, his pregnant new wife Margret, and his teenage son Harry, having been inspired by the articles. Although the isolationist Ritter and Strauch likely were annoyed by these “intruders,” they and the Wittmers respected each other’s space.
This wary dynamic was completely torpedoed by the next arrivals: Austrian-born Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet, a shameless hedonist accompanied by her two German lovers, Robert Philippson and Rudolf Lorenz, along with an Ecuadorian “worker” named Manuel Borja. Claiming to be a baroness — a title open to historical debate — she systematically bullied and intimidated the others via an insufferably arrogant blend of entitlement, seduction, treachery and a hustler’s talent for exploiting psychological weaknesses.
What eventually occurred ... well, that would spoil the story.
Howard and co-scripter Noah Pink dumped an intriguing ensemble cast into this combustible brew of jealousy, resentment and worse, although some play their roles better than others. Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby aren’t entirely successful with their German accents, as Ritter and Strauch, although they otherwise slide deftly into the sort of eccentric tics and mannerisms that would be expected of a couple isolated for so long.
Law looks appropriately rugged and hardy, and he puts considerable grim intensity into Ritter’s contemptuous denouncements. Kirby’s Strauch is softer, with a fondness for the burro that ferries their heavier goods; she also limps painfully, having embraced this rustic lifestyle in the hope that her multiple sclerosis will go into remission.
Law plays Ritter as an obstinate fanatic; Kirby is more nuanced. Strauch tends to walk around barefoot; the first of this film’s many wince-inducing moments comes during the couple’s evening ritual, as Ritter carefully digs parasitic insects out of Strauch’s skin.
Ritter and Dore knew what to expect, before arriving on Floreana. That isn’t true of Heinz (Daniel Brühl), Margret (Sydney Sweeney) and young Harry (Jonathan Tittel); they’re initially overwhelmed by the lack of resources, and the enormity of merely existing day by day, let alone taking steps to build a home, garden and everything else necessary for a sustainable existence.
In a move typical of Ritter’s disdain, he sends the Wittmer family to the island’s only other source of fresh water, near caves high up in the hills: as far away as possible. He also refuses use of the burro, to help with transport.
Brühl’s Heinz is a kind, decent man; he’s also stubbornly determined to Make This Work. He takes this initial snub in stride, and — to Ritter’s astonishment and, later, grudging respect — eventually acquits himself quite well.
Cinematographer Mathias Herndl grants ample exposure to the harsh landscape and terrain, often intercutting with brief glimpses of the varied land and ocean animal life. (Filming actually took place in Australia, and actual animals are complemented by other critters created by creature effects supervisor Jason Baird.)
Sweeney’s Margret initially seems so fragile, delicate and overwhelmed, that we can’t imagine her surviving even a week. But this young woman also is resolute and — as a result of being with child — draws upon mother-bear tenacity and fury when required.
Tittel never gives us a strong sense of Harry, also sickly, who seems a good-natured and obedient lad. Howard and Pink essentially ignore him, once the next quartet arrives.
Ana de Armas is spot-on as the sly and manipulative Baroness, who wields carnal sexuality and aristocratic contempt in equal measure. Her group immediately intrudes upon the Wittmer encampment, justifying their greed and boorish behavior by virtue of her “station.”
It’s immediately obvious that she’ll be Trouble, when she extends her hand to be kissed by the “lowly” Ritter and Heinz.
With respect to her boy-toy lovers, Phillipson (Toby Wallace) clearly is the alpha, while the weaker Lorenz (Felix Kammerer) is helplessly, uncontrollably in thrall to the Baroness’ every whim.
As if this weren’t bad enough, she soon dubs herself the “Empress of Floreana,” and announces that Borja is present to build an envisioned luxury hotel to be called “Hacienda Paradiso,” for passing rich travelers.
The utter absurdity of this proposal floors us, just as much as it does Ritter and Heinz.
That castle-in-the-sky notion aside, the Empress’ avarice soon becomes a much more serious problem, because her group arrives even less prepared than the Wittmers. De Armas also excels at the pouty, impatient temper tantrums that erupt with increasing frequency, as their supplies run out.
Then things get really nasty.
Some of what follows feels organic and credible: notably the reluctant shifting alliances. Other incidents are ridiculously overcooked, particularly the eventual outcome of Margret’s pregnancy, which is ludicrously contrived. That said, the aftermath — involving some assistance from Ritter — is another cringing teeth-grinder.
Then there’s the puzzling matter of a visit by American explorer and zoologist G. Allan Hancock (Richard Roxburgh), who seems to parachute in from an entirely different movie. Howard and Pink fail to supply the back-story necessary to justify this man’s presence; they also botch his “relationship” with the Baroness, in service of irony.
(In reality, Hancock traveled to the island many times, after initially being impressed by Ritter’s ingenuity. He subsequently was so besotted after meeting the Baroness, that he returned again to film a 4-minute silent adventure film, The Empress of Floreana, in which she starred.)
This story’s climax is narratively satisfying, but pure speculation; nobody knows what actually happened (hence the many books and documentaries, one of which — 2013’s The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden — is readily available online).
Although Howard’s film satisfies as a cautionary tale concerning the depths of human wickedness — and an occasional exercise in burlesque flourishes — I can’t imagine it attracting much of an audience.
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