IN THE HEART OF THE SEA – The Review

Director Ron Howard’s IN THE HEART OF THE SEA  tells the true tale of the 1830 sinking of the whaleship Essex by a massive whale. It’s a rousing epic that turns the endless expanse of the high seas into an arena for an exciting game of cat and mouse between man and beast. Howard’s film is a square, throwback adventure which, despite some clunky dialog and a predictable story, stays afloat for most of its running time.

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA is told in a series of flashbacks, opening in 1850 with author Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) paying a visit to Tom Nickersson (Brendan Gleeson) to learn if the rumors of a massive whale wrecking the ship on which he served  thirty years earlier were accurate. Nickerson tells Melville of his experience as a young man (where he’s played by Tom Holland) aboard the Essex, then on a year-long quest from Nantucket to slay sperm whales for their valuable oil. There is rivalry on-board between First Mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) and the less-experienced Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), who wants to high-tail it back home at the first sign of danger. After little success in their whale hunt, the ship finds a motherlode of the creatures, but the Essex and its men soon suffer the fury of one angry whale-zilla that turns the tables on its attackers, destroying their ship. The survivors are then stranded on small boats for months, thousands of miles from land, with Chase steering one, and Pollard another. That vengeful whale stalks his prey across the high seas as the men become desperate for food (that flashback framing device comes in handy when the story needs to cut away from some gruesome cannibal shenanigans).

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA is visually compelling but often plays like a big-budget B-actioner. The actors are adrift in stilted dialog and the film’s story lacks surprises. Its message about man vs nature is far from subtle, and the script fails to develop any deep relationships among its characters. But it’s with the promised spectacle that the film shines. Howard and his FX crew do a great job of making the watery antagonists overwhelmingly terrifying.  These beasts are shown in great 3D detail demolishing hulls with one flap of their tail, sending sailors flying through the air, and biting off Bo Derek’s leg.

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA proves that Chris Hemsworth, working with Howard again after his swaggering turn in RUSH, is a true blue movie star. His Owen Chase is a leader carved from the same mold as Ahab (if Ahab was often shirtless with long golden locks blowing in the wind). Benjamin Walker is excellent as Captain Pollard and I’m glad the story didn’t treat him as simply weak, but as a noble leader in over his head. Cillian Murphy as second mate is underused as is Tom Holland as the young Nickerson, though he has one great scene where, being the runt of the ship, he must literally descend into the smelly belly of the beast to scoop out its precious content.

Thanks in no small measure to cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle and production designer Mark Tildesly, this handsomely mounted film exudes the authentic tang of salt, sweat and whale oil. While it may not soar as high as one might hope, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA is still an enjoyable nautical adventure that proves that Ron Howard can still make impressive movies.

4 of 5 Stars