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| Chris Hemsworth |
The new action drama "In the Heart of the Sea" tells the story behind the story, in this case the story behind the classic American novel "Moby-Dick." Directed by Oscar-winning director Ron Howard ("Rush") and written by Charles Leavitt ("The Express") based on Nathaniel Philbrick's nonfiction novel of the same name, it's one of those slick, well-made movies with a few compelling moments that you like but not exactly love, mainly because it lacks genuine epic bravura and depth. As told to author Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) by an elder, lone surviving crew member: In 1820, crewmen (Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy) aboard the New England vessel Essex face a harrowing battle for survival when a whale of mammoth size and strength attacks with force, crippling their ship and leaving them adrift in the ocean. Pushed to their limits and facing storms, starvation, panic and despair, the survivors must resort to the unthinkable to stay alive. Their incredible tale ultimately inspires Melville to write "Moby-Dick." Part action yarn, part inspiring survival story and part behind-the-scenes portrait, "In the Heart of the Sea" is one of those big films so intent on unleashing the whale that it overlooks many of the ideas that inspired Melville's famous story, such as morality, leadership, God and the many complex dynamics of being on sea for months, even years at a time. The first part of "Sea" is its most compelling, filled with some decent, energetic moments and the big CGI whale with its large white tail splashing in the air, which is impressively handled by Howard and company, with his cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who worked with him on "Rush" providing some colorful photography of the nice visuals and first-rate sets and costumes. Unfortunately, the film peaks about midway through and once the whale largely disappears the movie becomes much less enthralling, with the lackluster survival aspect of the film giving some disconnect to the Melville scenes and "Moby-Dick" in general (and after all the effort to get the story, it seems a waste when Melville says he won't use all of it). Gleeson is by far the most memorable actor in the film, and while Hemsworth grounds the film in eye-candy fashion, even in his frailest moments in the last act, he isn't a strong enough actor to provide a genuine emotional payoff and depth the film needs, and it makes me wonder what a stronger actor like Christian Bale or Michael Fassbender could've done with the role. "In the Heart of the Sea" isn't a terrible film, it just aspires to be a big fish story that's really something much less.
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