In The Heart Of The Sea

A clear blue sea, what could be better than that ?

Well, not much, except for a white beach, a sunny day, and some Ron De Jeremy Rum in a glass, next to your towel. I simply love being close to the ocean, because that is where i belong. Some people love snow avalanches, snow storms and snow tsunamis, i love palm trees and desert sand, where no snow is ever seen. Ever since i was a child, i loved being close to the ocean, and in the ocean, swimming. As a child, i did read some children books, including some of the old classics that could be found in the school library. Adventure stories would take you away, on great continents, and exotic locations, that felt unreal. I would guess that most people know who director Ron Howard is. Most of you have probably seen in in the classic tv show Happy Days. He was also included in the classic film American Graffiti, where we could see a young Harrison Ford, and Richard Dreyfuss. As the years went on, Ron worked more on directing films, instead of being an actor. And he have plenty of good films in his career that are worth mentioning. You might have seen Cast Away with Tom Hanks ? Or how about the 80´s classic Cocoon ? He also directed the very powerful film A Beautiful Mind, where Russel Crowe did a fantastic performance as John Nash, the nobel prize winner. But my favourite film so far from his catalogue is without a doubt Frost/ Nixon. Based on the true story on Richard Nixon´s tv interview with british journalist David Frost. If you have not seen it, i suggest you buy the dvd. Now, i have not seen either Rush, or Made In America, that he directed in recent years. But when i read that Ron Howard was going to make a movie adaptation on the classic story about Moby Dick, i became curious to see what he would try and bring this adaptation. Knowing that he can direct all kinds of genre films, and have worked with many great actors in many years, is The Heart Of The Sea a worthy adaptation of the classic tale of Moby Dick, or should this film have been left out at sea for good ?

In the year 1850, Thomas Nickerson ( Brendan Gleeson ) invites author Herman Melville ( Ben Whishaw ), to tell him the story of the ship Essex. Thomas is the only survivor left, who knew what happened on the ship, back in 1820. As a young man, Thomas Nickerson ( Tom Holland ) is chosen to go along on the ship Essex, to retrieve whale oil. The ship captain George Pollard ( Benjamin Walker ) is determined that they can manage to get as much whale oil as possible. As they head into an awful storm, it seems that captain George not may have much experience out in the ocean. Luckily, they have Owen Chase ( Chris Hemsworth ), the First Mate on board the ship. He knows how to handle situations, even if the storms can be complicated. Without any luck, it seems as if they crew have problems finding whales. If they don´t get the whale oil, they can´t get paid. In Atacames, Ecuador, the crew see an enourmous white whale, that attack the Essex ship and destroy it. 6 men are killed, and the rest of the crew is forced to travel in a smaller boat. Not knowing how they will survive so far away from home, without water and enough weapons, all they can do is work together. As the days are going by, the crew is in desperate need of a sollution, but is it possible ?

As i sat down in the cinema, i was hoping that Ron Howard would give us a tasteful version of Moby Dick, that feels traditional but still enjoyable. Unfortunately, i have to say that In The Heart Of The Sea is not as effective as it should be. When you have a cast of Chris Hemsworth, Cillan Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson, and many other great actors in the cast, you would expect a lot of great performances. Somewhere along the sea adventure, we do get to see some whale hunting, and some nice special effects. But the story based on the book In The Heart of The Sea, by author Nathaniel Philbrick, is not as powerful as it should have been. Considering that this is the kind of film, a lot of people in all ages enjoy watching, there are some details that could have been made better. The most interesting part of the film, is when Brendan Gleeson as Thomas Nickerson, invite author Herman Melville ( Ben Whishaw ). Brendan is actually the strongest character here, and his story telling makes the film feel more interesting, as he gives the best performance in this film. Ben Wishaw is also good, as he usually is, especially as Q in the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre. I like Chris Hemsworth as an actor in the Thor films, or in The Avengers films, but here he kind of feels pretty dry. He does not give his character enough power to look like a lead character, where the best scenes are seeing him trying to kill the whales. So even if the cast is ok, the film does not manage to lift the story of the Essex ship much further. We find ourselves in different dangerous sitiations, but without powerful performances, the action scenes are not more than the usual storm outbreaks. I can sense that Ron Howard had a good idea on this film, because i do like some of the whale attacks. Especially when Moby Dick is shown, we finally get what we asked for. But for a film that is over 2 hours, we should have had much more to be served with. In The Heart Of The Sea is not an awful film, it just does not make you inspired of the classic tale of Moby Dick. Such a shame, i was actually looking forward to this film. I still respect Ron Howard, he have given us so many great films over the years, and i still belive in him. In The Heart Of The Sea is not a film i think many people will remember.

Rating: DD