In the Heart of the Sea is based on the story of Whaleship Essex, which served as the inspiration for Moby Dick. And the novel and its reputation are all over this movie. The film tries really hard to shape its narrative to suit themes that are somewhat related to the great American epic. But this gets in the way of what the film is actually good at: depicting the dangers of the ocean, and the grim reality of survival in that environment.
The film is framed as Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) interviewing Thomas Nickerson (played in adulthood by Brendan Gleeson), the last surviving crew member of the ill-fated whaling ship The Essex. The film then mostly takes place in 1820, following Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) as he begrudgingly serves as first mate to Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), who got the job mainly because of nepotism. They set off to harvest at least two thousand barrels of whale oil. But deep into their journey, their quest puts them face to face with a monstrous whale that destroys their ship and leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere.
The film is actually several different movies in one. It is partly a movie about the relationship between two men, a drama about the tension between those born into privilege and those who have to work their way up. It is also a high seas adventure movie that features thrilling footage of men hunting whales in the early 19th century, culminating in them facing down a real monster. And it is also a survival tale, documenting the harshness of the ocean as a group of stranded sailors try to stay alive in a brutal environment. Of those three parts, it is the second that is most compelling. It features exciting footage of a bygone human endeavor. Whale hunting is a strange and dangerous business, and the film takes full advantage of it.
The survival portion is also pretty strong, though the film gets a little squeamish in portraying the horrible things these sailors had to do to survive. It is in exploring the relationship between Pollard and Chase that the movie falters. It doesn't get deep enough into their relationship, relying too much on narration to fill in the blanks. It gets heavy handed with themes, and the drama between them never really develops into something memorable. The sequences with Melville compound this problem, as the movie awkwardly extends those themes to a completely different story.
But for the most part, the movie succeeds in providing plenty of interesting things to witness. The camera goes a little overboard with movement, but it does help place the audience within this very unique milieu. The movie makes the work of keeping a ship afloat seek very exciting, and it ably captures the danger and brutality of hunting down whales. The cast is more than decent. Chris Hemsworth doesn’t have the most range, but he always does a fine job playing the adventuring type. Benjamin Walker isn’t given much to hold on to, but he serves the role well. Brendan Gleeson and Ben Whishaw do manage to make saying the themes out loud not entirely unbearable.
In the Heart of the Sea suffers under the specter of Moby Dick. The film seems desperate to deliver themes as grand as the novel. But this narrative serves a different master. This is a true story, and it would have likely been enough for the film to simply focus on the immediacy of these men’s survival. The film ends up forcing its lessons, twisting history to make its point about greed, and writing characters into speeches that outline all the things that must be learned. It is still thrilling at times, but overall the heavy-handedness of the film makes it difficult to swallow.
My Rating:
