In the Heart of the Sea is pretty much your grandfather’s Moby Dick. It has the visual splendor of a period film, the great performances from its cast to carry it through, and also under the command of Ron Howard, how could it miss?
The movie provides a series of flashbacks which sets up its dramatic focus. Ben Whishaw stars as young Herman Melville whom interviews an old sailor named Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson) in order to provide some inspiration for his new novel.
Chris Hemsworth stars as Owen Chase, a first mate onboard the ship the Essex in 1820. Benjamin Walker costars as Captain George Pollard and Cillian Murphy is Pollard’s second mate. While on their voyage at sea, they encounter a gigantic sperm whale that sinks their ship and splits it in half. This leaves the crew stranded at sea for 90 days.
The men have to do whatever they can in order to survive including resorting to cannibalism. Later they sail towards South America.
Howard definitely is the real captain of this ship, bringing a great story to life that is brimming with authenticity. The sequences at sea alone are nothing short of breathtaking. Howard is known for his flair for telling harrowing true-life stories such as Apollo 13 and here he basically has the structure of that story just transposed at sea.
Hemsworth does display a period-style presence even if he doesn’t feel completely compelling throughout and the rest of the supporting cast is about as equally good.
In the Heart of the Sea may divide audiences between those Melville purists and those looking for an epic good time, but I think this movie works. It floats and doesn’t sink.
Grade: B+
(Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and peril, brief startling violence, and thematic material.)
