Movies By Cho: In the Heart of the Sea
Now Showing: In the Heart of the Sea
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Brendon Gleeson
Scene after the Credits: No
Would I see this again: Yes
Notable Previews: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (Batman with a GUN?! Really?)
Bottom Line: Engaging tale of the true events that inspired "Moby Dick"
The days of Wooden Ships and Iron Men: Mid 19th century, where it took a lot of courage to sail beyond the sight of land. A tiny (relatively) boat on an unpredictable ocean, with nothing but hostile terrain all around you. "Water, water, everywhere -- but not a drop to drink." This old rhyme perfectly describes being alone on the ocean. Drinking seawater will kill you faster than not drinking anything. You may not have the read the book, but everyone has heard of the tale of "Moby Dick," of Captain Ahab, his ship the Pequod, and the demon White Whale. This is not that story, which is fiction.
This movie is about the true story of the Essex, a brand new whaling ship out of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and lost with most of its crew, 2,000 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, during its maiden voyage. The film mostly revolves around veteran 1st Officer, Owen Chase (Hemsworth), and the newly minted Captain George Pollard (Walker). Chase is a former farmer's son, and therefore considered a trumped-up landlubber, despite his proven years of success upon the seas, while Pollard was born to money, and given the role of Captain merely because his father is a major patron of the ship's owners. (despite the post being promised to Chase at the end of his previous voyage) Thus, the trip starts off with the classic struggle between the inexperienced boss ruling over the vastly more knowledgeable crew. This, of course, almost ends in disaster on Day 2, when the Captain pulls a stunt in the face of a storm that seems geared either to force Mr Chase to resign by intentionally getting the new ship severely damaged so it must return to port immediately, or to foolishly inspire the crew with a reckless stunt. I'm not sure which, but he comes closer to succeeding in the former.
This takes place in 1850, and the ship sails out of Nantucket, heading east into Atlantic. I thought I heard a character mention the Pacific, but figured I misheard. The Panama Canal didn't exist at the time, and the trip around the tip of South America, the Straits of Magellan, was a notoriously treacherous trip for sailing ships. However, when the crew only find and harvest 1 whale in the Atlantic (it's late in the season when they set out), the continue on to the South Atlantic, and then eventually make their way to the Pacific and then up the west coast of South America. Can you even IMAGINE such a journey? The time investment? These are men who left home, unsure if they'd be gone 1 year, 3 years, or *never* return! They were given a quota of how many barrels of whale oil to return with and woe be unto the ship that failed to meet their numbers! (this was before crude oil was first discovered in 1859) All the oil we consume today, and it's a resource that we've only known about for roughly 156 years!
Once the officers hear of a sighting of a massive pod of whales 1,000 leagues west of Ecuador (almost 3400 miles), the ship sets off to find them, much to the dread of the crew; sailing that far from land seems a dangerous and very foolhardy thing to do. They end up being correct, but not for the reasons they feared. The movie, already good, really picks up from here and doesn't stop, right up to the rescue and inquiry into the loss of the ship and majority of the crew. (although I'm sure the owners only cared about the financial loss of a brand new ship that never returned a single penny in profit)
Anyway, I really liked this movie, and was impressed by Cillian Murphy's performance, which for once, made me stop thinking of him as "Scarecrow" from Batman Begins.
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Brendon Gleeson
Scene after the Credits: No
Would I see this again: Yes
Notable Previews: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (Batman with a GUN?! Really?)
Bottom Line: Engaging tale of the true events that inspired "Moby Dick"
The days of Wooden Ships and Iron Men: Mid 19th century, where it took a lot of courage to sail beyond the sight of land. A tiny (relatively) boat on an unpredictable ocean, with nothing but hostile terrain all around you. "Water, water, everywhere -- but not a drop to drink." This old rhyme perfectly describes being alone on the ocean. Drinking seawater will kill you faster than not drinking anything. You may not have the read the book, but everyone has heard of the tale of "Moby Dick," of Captain Ahab, his ship the Pequod, and the demon White Whale. This is not that story, which is fiction.
This movie is about the true story of the Essex, a brand new whaling ship out of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and lost with most of its crew, 2,000 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, during its maiden voyage. The film mostly revolves around veteran 1st Officer, Owen Chase (Hemsworth), and the newly minted Captain George Pollard (Walker). Chase is a former farmer's son, and therefore considered a trumped-up landlubber, despite his proven years of success upon the seas, while Pollard was born to money, and given the role of Captain merely because his father is a major patron of the ship's owners. (despite the post being promised to Chase at the end of his previous voyage) Thus, the trip starts off with the classic struggle between the inexperienced boss ruling over the vastly more knowledgeable crew. This, of course, almost ends in disaster on Day 2, when the Captain pulls a stunt in the face of a storm that seems geared either to force Mr Chase to resign by intentionally getting the new ship severely damaged so it must return to port immediately, or to foolishly inspire the crew with a reckless stunt. I'm not sure which, but he comes closer to succeeding in the former.
This takes place in 1850, and the ship sails out of Nantucket, heading east into Atlantic. I thought I heard a character mention the Pacific, but figured I misheard. The Panama Canal didn't exist at the time, and the trip around the tip of South America, the Straits of Magellan, was a notoriously treacherous trip for sailing ships. However, when the crew only find and harvest 1 whale in the Atlantic (it's late in the season when they set out), the continue on to the South Atlantic, and then eventually make their way to the Pacific and then up the west coast of South America. Can you even IMAGINE such a journey? The time investment? These are men who left home, unsure if they'd be gone 1 year, 3 years, or *never* return! They were given a quota of how many barrels of whale oil to return with and woe be unto the ship that failed to meet their numbers! (this was before crude oil was first discovered in 1859) All the oil we consume today, and it's a resource that we've only known about for roughly 156 years!
Once the officers hear of a sighting of a massive pod of whales 1,000 leagues west of Ecuador (almost 3400 miles), the ship sets off to find them, much to the dread of the crew; sailing that far from land seems a dangerous and very foolhardy thing to do. They end up being correct, but not for the reasons they feared. The movie, already good, really picks up from here and doesn't stop, right up to the rescue and inquiry into the loss of the ship and majority of the crew. (although I'm sure the owners only cared about the financial loss of a brand new ship that never returned a single penny in profit)
Anyway, I really liked this movie, and was impressed by Cillian Murphy's performance, which for once, made me stop thinking of him as "Scarecrow" from Batman Begins.