The Finest Hours takes inspiration from real life events that took place in 1952, in the small coastal town of Chatham, Massachusetts. Before it gets the main action, the film introduces Coast Guardsman Bernie Webber (Chris Pine) as a shy young man nervous to meet the girl he’s been talking to on the phone for the last few weeks. The girl is Miriam (Holliday Granger), who takes to Bernie right away. A few months later, Bernie agrees to marry her, but says that out of protocol, he must first ask permission from his superior officer. Before he can do that, however, he is sent off on a rescue mission in the middle of the worst storms to hit the surrounding seas.
The film splits its attention between Bernie’s perilous trip through the stormy weather, Miriam back on shore worrying about him, and the ship that needs rescue. On the ship, an oil tanker ripped in half by the storm, engineer Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) reluctantly takes lead of the remaining survivors, trying everything he can to keep the engines running and everyone alive while they await rescue. He forces the rest of the crew to stay on the ship to help execute a risky plan that might keep afloat long enough to survive the storm.
The three prongs of these stories don’t add up to very much. Each part has its own appeal. On Bernie’s story, the movie gets thrilling, CGI-heavy scenes of the Guardsman and his crew taking on dangerous waters. Ray’s scenes have the camera smoothly moving through the bowels of this broken ship, and capture the sheer scale of what has to be done to keep everyone alive. Miriam, back on dry land, is an interesting character in her own right, a woman possessed of an uncommon steeliness for the time.
But put together, these pieces don’t really fit that well. In having to split its attentions between the three parts, the movie ends up skimping on the detail in each of the components. It just goes broad with everything, the script basically having its characters openly declare their primary characteristics. The worst offender is the film’s nominal antagonist, Bernie’s coast guard commander. He is so thinly draw in his antagonism that it just doesn’t feel real anymore. The script doesn’t leave much room for grace or subtlety, and it doesn’t provide enough time to get really deep into who these people are beneath the surface.
And that’s what this film is ultimately about. It is fueled by its look, whether it’s the Rockwell-tinged depiction of small town life, or the VFX splendor of the scenes out on sea. It’s all very nice to look at, but there’s hardly anything going on underneath. The film largely squanders a handful of strong performances. Chris Pine plays against type, showing some range beyond the confident charisma he usually brings to roles. Holliday Granger isn’t given enough to do, but she runs with everything she’s given. Casey Affleck delivers a quiet performance that adds an illusion of depth to an underwritten role.
The components parts of The Finest Hours do still have their distinct pleasures. In the moment, each scene might be appreciated for the visual craft put into them. But strung together, it becomes clear that the movie just doesn’t have anything happening beneath those visuals. The movie isn’t bad, really. One might even be inclined to call it “fine.” But the movie is enervating, the tedium growing as the movie continues on its broad path, more interested in the storm than it is in the people within it.
My Rating:
