Review of The Finest Hours (2016) by Brett B — 02 Feb 2016

THE FINEST HOURS is good, solid, old-fashioned storytelling and filmmaking. Its ambitions are not lofty, nor is it some electrifying yarn, but it is consistently compelling and incredibly well made. Bringing to life what is an almost unbelievable true story, the movie is technically accomplished, and its characters are embodied by a very strong lineup of actors, each of whom bring a little something extra to roles that might have been just a bit lacking on the page.

Pine is at his most everyman-ish, displaying a selfless, quiet heroism, and Affleck is great as a no-nonsense guy seemingly carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. This leading pair are backed up by a great supporting cast; Foster, Gallner, and Magaro have a nice, low-key rapport, while guys like Bana and McTavish bring a level of authenticity to the film that is welcome.

However, perhaps the best performance in the movie belongs to Grainger, who is fantastic; everything from her general look (seriously, it seems as if somebody got into a time machine and brought her here from the 1940s or '50s in terms of appearance) to her empathetic - and sympathetic - handling of the emotional beats, she's a completely engaging screen presence.

All of the stuff at sea is absolutely dynamite and harrowing; the stuff onshore is less so, but Grainger does everything she can to keep it interesting. The digital effects are mostly excellent, and the sound mix - with its groans and whines and splashes - is worthy of awards recognition.

There's a deeply earnest quality to the movie that feels very 1950s, and I really appreciate that; for the most part, we're watching a bunch of regular folks coming together in the face of incredibly long and frightening odds, and I'm a total sucker for that kind of stuff.

This is a movie whose heart is so much in the right place that I struggle to find things to nitpick about it. It's not an amazing work of cinema, but it is a good story well-told.