In the Heart of the Sea: Movie Review

In the Heart of the Sea award winning director Ron Howard takes Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the boy who would be Spider-Man, in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War movie (Tom Hollard) on a whale of an adventure and it is no bedtime story. In one of the most extraordinary stories of all time, man faces nature and then himself, the whaling ship Essex was attacked by a monstrous sperm whale with it’s crew left to survive out in the sea. What they did to survive and how they survived will haunt you. It is this amazing story which inspired Herman Melville to write the classic tale Moby-Dick. 

Chris Hemsworth, who stars in the film as Essex First Mate Owen Chase, remarks, “I loved the script from the start. ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ is about heroism and people being tested beyond their limits in absolutely every way. I was also captivated by the psychological thriller aspect of the whale turning the tables on them. There is something incredibly mysterious about how this animal is portrayed—why the whale goes on the attack, which was unlike anything the Essex crew had ever encountered. The hunter becomes the hunted.”

We live in a world where ‘whale oil’ is no longer a necessity so we don’t really understand the need that drives these men to unknown waters and in undeniably difficult circumstances in order to ‘earn a living’. The film contemplates on the characters’ reflections on the cruelty of their trade and at the mercy of Mother Nature herself, ask what they have done to deserve such a cruel fate. There is some philosophical exchange in dialogue which makes you think as well, of man’s stewardship over the earth. Are we here to play gods and kings and do as we wish? Or are we all just a speck of dust at the mercy of a cruel and unpredictable earth?

Tom Hollard who made headlines a few months back for bagging the coveted role of the new Spider-Man gives an impressive performance as the 14 year old Thomas Nickerson, who joins the crew as a green hand and his experiences on the ill-fated whaling ship will haunt him for years to come.

The films cinematography and shocking encounters and battles with the legendary whale is a cinematic experience you should not miss. However, this is just one part of the story as the rest of it falls on the survival of the crew as they are exposed to the cruel elements. Without food and water and with hope slowly fading away.

Opening across the Philippines on December 3, 2015 in theaters and IMAX®, “In the Heart of the Sea” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.