Review of In the Heart of the Sea (2015) by Akiko A — 16 Dec 2015

In the Heart of the Sea is based on historical facts of what happened to the ship the Essex while on a whaling trip to bring back oil to Nantucket. The story inspired the book Moby Dick. Chris Hemsworth does a great job playing the first officer Owen Chase that has whaling in his blood but does not have the family ties or legacy.

As Owen Chase is sent on a new whaling trip to be first officers to a new Captain, he finds that his new Captain is not as experienced on the sea as he is, Once they are out to sea, the Captain makes a bad decision when they head into a storm.

Since they both are at odds with one another, the Captain considers blaming Owen for his bad decision and wants to return to port. Chase convinces him that they can't go back with any oil and they mutually decide to stay at sea.

They do find some whales and harvest oil from a few, but slowly they disappear. The crew stays out longer and sails down past the Cape to the Pacific where they make a stop for supplies and meet a Captain that tells them his tale about a Big White Whale that takes down his ship and kills his crew.

He admits there are so many whales that he was drawn to a place far from the shore. Chase and the Captain ignore his warning and set sail to find these whales. Once they find the location, it is indeed filled with more whales then they have ever seen before.

As they go out into smaller boats to harpoon the whales, a giant white whale appears and smashes Chase's boat and then as he and his crew head back to repair their boat, the White Whale attacks the Essex.

What happens afterwards is a dark tale of survival and the relationship between Chase and the Whale. This film is not your typical Hollywood movie but it is loyal to the story of the Essex and does give you a backstory to one of the greatest books ever written Moby Dick.

I enjoyed the film even through it's very dark moments.