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‘In the Heart of the Sea’: Modernized Moby Dick
by Sandra Olmsted
In his new film, In the Heart of the Sea, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Charles Leavitt modernize the true tale of what happened to the whaling ship the Essex circa 1820 by drawing out themes of environmentalism and comparing the whale oil industry to today’s oil industry. Yet, with all this enlightenment going on in their script, they still manage to make an exciting film thanks to gorgeously done CGI and fast paced action.
They also frame the story of the Essex with the story of writer Herman Melville’s (Ben Whishaw) interview with Tom Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), the last remaining survivor of the ill-fated voyage. The interview with the reluctant Nickerson is intercut with the action of the high seas adventure and provides Melville with the source material for his Moby Dick.
Nickerson, who was only fourteen at the start of the voyage, has become a hard-drinking old man in the 30 years since the Essex left Nantucket with rookie Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) and experienced First Mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) in charge. Obviously, Pollard, who is in charge because he is the son of the shipping company owner, and Chase, who was cheated of the opportunity to captain the ship, aren’t going to get along during the voyage. Greed is the only thing they have in common, and they agree to fill the ship with whale oil as quickly as possible, return home, and be shed of each other forever. Unfortunately, weeks and months go by, and little whale oil is obtained.
Then, they hear of a spot that is teaming with whales. One problem: According to accounts by other seafarers, a gigantic white whale protects the pod of whales. Chase and Pollard discount the frightening tales and head to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to fill the Essex with oil quickly and get back home. The young Nickerson (Tom Holland) becomes the point of view character for the harrowing events that transpired on the Essex. The guilt over how they survived has destroyed old Nickerson, and finally telling the truth may be his salvation.
Howard and Leavitt focus on environmental themes and, consequently, provide the giant whale with motivation for his actions, which makes the whale more sympathetic than the whalers. Howard and Leavitt also show that big oil, even then, was not above bending the truth or jeopardizing human life for profit. While Herman Melvin used the character of Queequeg to represent the cannibalistic themes in his story of the Essex, Howard and Leavitt omit the character of Queequeg. Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle beautifully combines CGI and other camera tricks with live-action, and the score by Roque Banos is essential to the film’s evoking of emotion.
The performances are strong, and Holland seems a talent to watch. All the actors appear to lose a lot of weight, yet, because of the few number of close up shots in this quickly told part of the story, I suspect the images of the emaciated sailors were simply and cheaply altered with a similar computer technology used to perfect the images of models.
In the Heart of the Sea, a Warner Bros. release, runs an exciting 121 min and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and peril, brief startling violence, and thematic material. While not a fantastic film because of trying too hard to be too many films, it does offers excitement, escape, and breathtaking special effects, especially in 3D. Based Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2000 book of the same name rather than Moby Dick, In the Heart of the Sea opens officially Dec. 11 although many theaters are offering screenings on the 10th.
