In the Heart of the Sea
"The tragedy of the Essex is the story of men. And a Demon." -Old Thomas Nickerson
The nautical action/adventure biopic In the Heart of the Sea is directed by the great Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code) and stars Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase, Benjamin Walker as George Pollard, Cillian Murphy as Matthew Joy, Brendan Gleeson as old Tom Nickerson, Ben Whishaw as Herman Melville, and Tom Holland as young Tom Nickerson.
^Great looking cast...just wait until you see what they turn into...^
In the Heart of the Sea takes place in 1820 and is the true story behind the book Moby Dick and how it came. Through an interview, the story is told by whaler and former cabin boy and now elderly Thomas Nickerson to soon to be author of Moby Dick Herman Melville. The whaling ship known as the Essex is crewed by the Captain George Pollard, first officer Chase Owen, second officer Matthew Joy, and other fellow crew members including Thomas Nickerson. The men are tasked to bring back 2,000 barrels of whale oil (which is pretty much like the oil we use today) to the port of Nantucket. A disruption occurs during their 1 year voyage when the ship is slammed then sinks by a gigantic and enraged sperm whale (inspiration for the name Moby Dick). Hereafter, the crew has to survive in the middle of the sea with no ships in sight and more than a thousand miles from land. The crew makes the decision to sail for South America to where the closest humans are. Through the harsh conditions of the weather, the angry whale, and most of all, lack of food and water, the crew has to resort to making extremely difficult decisions and even cannibalism.
^Damn, Moby. You're making things so frustrating for the people who only want to kill your family for your oil.^
Whenever Ron Howard directs a film, I get immensely excited because it's Ron Howard. He's made great movies. Then he's made alright movies that can be forgettable. Unfortunately, I would have to say the In the Heart of the Sea is an alright movie, however not forgettable. This had some really interesting and amazing scenes, most of which involve the whale itself. I was so invested in the fear of being alone at sea with a giant angry sperm whale circling me waiting to attack. The thing is that the whale was a background character that didn't have enough scenes. I'm guessing that he was in the film for 30 minutes, at the most, out of the 2 hours and 2 minutes of running time. However the scenes that I did get to see of him were magnificent and terrifying. It was almost like Jaws in the way that you wouldn't want to be in the middle of the ocean trying to deal with harsh environments, barely any water, barely any food, no land for miles and miles, and on top of that a damn 60 ton whale watching your every move. Also, the whale, along with the other whales, were beautiful to watch while they were underwater. It's truly another world below sea level.
^Quick! A 40+ foot/12+ meter long Sperm Whale is coming at you at 25 mph/40 kph. What do you do?^
While I enjoyed the little amount of scenes with the whale, the rest of the movie was really quite boring. There were times were I was entertained with watching Captain George Pollard and first officer Owen Chase have their spats with Chase wanting to be the captain (Chase, having the experience of a whaler, and Pollard, having just a legacy name and no experience), but there was no clear character development leaving me kind of helpless to sympathize with the characters. I didn't even absolutely sorry for the characters who were eaten by the other crew members when they were stranded out in the ocean. However, I was grossed out. I only really cared a little for Owen Chase, Thomas Nickerson, and Matthew Joy because I'm very familiar with the actors playing them and love their work. I cared for Chase a little more due to seeing him with his pregnant wife, knowing that he has a family. I'm sure that if anybody else portrayed them the same, I wouldn't care at all.
<Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase
Tom Holland as a young Thomas Nickerson>
<Cillian Murphy as Matthew Joy
Along with the whales, a big reason why I enjoyed and appreciate In the Heart of the Sea was the dedication given by the actors and the crew. I learned a little about this before and after watching the film. All of the actors who portrayed members of the ship lost a substantial amount of weight. with supposedly only 500 calories a day to eat during filming, Chris Hemsworth and fellow actors really fell below the limit of their original weight. During the scenes of the characters being stranded at sea, it looked as if they were dying of starvation, which apparently was somewhat real. My appreciation for these people really blew up. The makeup department definitely deserves a head nod too. They made the actors look like they haven't bathed in months and haven't eaten in more than a year.
^2014's sexiest man alive? OK then.^
While I was disappointed in Ron Howard's retelling of how the book Moby Dick came to be, I can't say it's bad at all. I was amused with the giant sperm whale and the world around them. However, the majority of the film was bland and I didn't care for any of the characters as much as I wanted to, no matter how hard I tried. Overall, I do think it's an interesting film to watch to know more about the history of Moby Dick and the story of the Essex, it's just not as good as I wanted it to be.
Pro
- The sperm whale scenes
- The underwater world is amazing and beautiful
- Dedication from the actors and crew
- It's boring
- No character development
3.3/5
In the Heart of the Sea is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and peril, brief startling violence, and thematic material
Watch the trailer here
In the Heart of the Sea is in theaters everywhere now
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