Review of In the Heart of the Sea (2015) by Jeffrey M — 20 Mar 2016

An old tale told with force and spectacular imagery, In the Heart of the Sea is an epic tale told in an epic way. Ron Howard's newest film peers in to the true inspiration for Moby Dick, following the tragedy and mystique of the ill-fated Essex, whose secrets have never fully been told. It's an adventure, it's a character drama, and it's yet another success for Howard's illustrious career.

Told in flashback form, In the Heart of Sea has a lot of old-fashioned sensibilities to it. This serves the story well, and it feels just as impacting as it would have been in the 1850s. Its boasts a wonderful cast with good chemistry, and Christ Hemsworth seems like a natural choice for the swash-buckling Owen Chase. The film also employs a lot of spectacular visuals with amazing imagery, with some truly breathtaking whale moments. It's a grand film of a big design, and it works. The action beats hit, there's emotional resonance, and we care for the characters. By the end, one doesn't leave feeling like an old story was rehashed, rather an old story was properly told.

This is not to say the film is without problems. I felt the CGI was a bit heavy at times, and some of the characterizations suffer. This is especially true of Hemsworth's Ownen Chase character, who had some unbearable clichéd exposition. Still, the character dynamics at least grew within the film, as far as how the men relate to each other- and the overall execution was top rate.

4/5 Stars.