Review of In the Heart of the Sea (2015) by Trevor K — 14 Aug 2016

The elements here are familiar, and competently rendered--man versus nature, man versus man, man versus himself. The obligatory epic shots of a Howard film are also present, and there are, thankfully, no easy solutions for the tensions between the first mate and captain, who, it is announced at the beginning, are the two men driving the tale.

It is an ambitious film, but In the Heart of the Sea seems somewhat adrift, and lacking a full beating heart of its own. The white whale in fact is the most drawing, sympathetic character, and when first mate Owen Chase meets its eye, its recalls the quiet majesty of the whale from Cast Away, and in doing so reverberates for a care we ought to take for the sea, and the creatures within. In the end, however, there are too many themes at work in this one, blunting any lasting emotional effect.