Over many years, small boys have ran away to sea seeking adventure, great books like RL Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' have been written, and in more recent times, great sea-faring movies have been made too. 'In the Heart of the Sea' is a new film that follows well in that great tradition.
This Warner Bros. film tells the true story upon which the famous novel 'Moby-Dick' was based. However, there is much more to this than just a story about a whale. We see, in grim detail in fact, the whaling- industry of the 19th century, both at port, and at sea. It should be clearly stated, that this film is not for the faint-hearted. Despite it's UK rating of 12A, this film shows in great detail, and gory detail, the bloody business of whale hunting. It is not unbearable watching. It can be watched, but it is not an easy watch at times. There is very little background music, but what there is, adds poignancy, perfectly, when needed.
The film is directed by Ron Howard who has made a bit of a speciality of filming true stories. His 1995 'Apollo 13' is rightly applauded as a masterpiece. He also did 'A Beautiful Mind' in 2001. More recently he directed 'Rush' (2013), a true story of car racing, that starred Chris Hemsworth. They have reunited for this sea-faring story. Mr Hemsworth, who was in 'Blackhat' (2015), once again gets to play an action hero. His character is an experienced sea-farer and whaler. He himself looks the part, and convinces as a physically strong, skilled, and tough seaman.
The film actually opens with a writer played by Ben Wishhaw trying to buy a story from an old sailor played by Brendan Gleeson. Incidentally, both appeared in another costume drama, 'Suffragette' (2015). Mr Wishhaw plays writer Herman Mellville, destined to write the famous book, Mr Gleeson is thus the narrator throughout the film. Ben Wishhaw has also appeared with Daniel Craig's James Bond in 'Skyfall' (2012) and 'Spectre' (2015), and pre-Bond, both appeared in an excellent gangster film 'Layer Cake' (2004). Benjamin Walker and Cillian Murphy also appear in our sea-faring story and both give strong performances as does young Tom Holland.
In the Ancient World, the cities of Rome and Greece needed olive oil as one of the essentials in their life. It was thus an important and core industry. Nowadays, we are concerned about the depredations caused by our own use of raw materials. However, that is nothing compared to the wholesale slaughter of whales that occurred in the 19th century. For men grew rich, as their businesses flourished, in the trading of whale oil. "To hunt a species to extinction is illogical" is stated in the anti-whaling 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' (1986), a much lighter whaling story. At least, in this new whaling film, the men at sea are much less technologically advanced in their hunt. We see the hunting techniques, but also the dangers too, for the men were also facing life-threatening situations. At least in those days the two sides were more evenly matched.
This film is a true story of an oil industry that is now thankfully a thing of the past, but it is also more than that too, telling an exciting sea-faring adventure yarn too. As such therefore, it is suitable viewing for teenage boys, and their parents, can these days, rest assured, that they are unlikely to run off to sea. 10/10.
This Warner Bros. film tells the true story upon which the famous novel 'Moby-Dick' was based. However, there is much more to this than just a story about a whale. We see, in grim detail in fact, the whaling- industry of the 19th century, both at port, and at sea. It should be clearly stated, that this film is not for the faint-hearted. Despite it's UK rating of 12A, this film shows in great detail, and gory detail, the bloody business of whale hunting. It is not unbearable watching. It can be watched, but it is not an easy watch at times. There is very little background music, but what there is, adds poignancy, perfectly, when needed.
The film is directed by Ron Howard who has made a bit of a speciality of filming true stories. His 1995 'Apollo 13' is rightly applauded as a masterpiece. He also did 'A Beautiful Mind' in 2001. More recently he directed 'Rush' (2013), a true story of car racing, that starred Chris Hemsworth. They have reunited for this sea-faring story. Mr Hemsworth, who was in 'Blackhat' (2015), once again gets to play an action hero. His character is an experienced sea-farer and whaler. He himself looks the part, and convinces as a physically strong, skilled, and tough seaman.
The film actually opens with a writer played by Ben Wishhaw trying to buy a story from an old sailor played by Brendan Gleeson. Incidentally, both appeared in another costume drama, 'Suffragette' (2015). Mr Wishhaw plays writer Herman Mellville, destined to write the famous book, Mr Gleeson is thus the narrator throughout the film. Ben Wishhaw has also appeared with Daniel Craig's James Bond in 'Skyfall' (2012) and 'Spectre' (2015), and pre-Bond, both appeared in an excellent gangster film 'Layer Cake' (2004). Benjamin Walker and Cillian Murphy also appear in our sea-faring story and both give strong performances as does young Tom Holland.
In the Ancient World, the cities of Rome and Greece needed olive oil as one of the essentials in their life. It was thus an important and core industry. Nowadays, we are concerned about the depredations caused by our own use of raw materials. However, that is nothing compared to the wholesale slaughter of whales that occurred in the 19th century. For men grew rich, as their businesses flourished, in the trading of whale oil. "To hunt a species to extinction is illogical" is stated in the anti-whaling 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' (1986), a much lighter whaling story. At least, in this new whaling film, the men at sea are much less technologically advanced in their hunt. We see the hunting techniques, but also the dangers too, for the men were also facing life-threatening situations. At least in those days the two sides were more evenly matched.
This film is a true story of an oil industry that is now thankfully a thing of the past, but it is also more than that too, telling an exciting sea-faring adventure yarn too. As such therefore, it is suitable viewing for teenage boys, and their parents, can these days, rest assured, that they are unlikely to run off to sea. 10/10.