OPPENHEIMER : Tuesday 25th July 2023.

'OPPENHEIMER' which I saw at my local independent movie theatre this week is an MA15+ Rated American biographical war drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Christopher Nolan, and is based on the 2005 biography 'American Prometheus' by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Christopher Nolan's prior film making credits take in his debut with 'Following' in 1998 then 'Momento' in 2000, 'Insomnia' in 2002, 'Inception' in 2010, 'Interstellar' in 2014, 'Dunkirk' in 2017, 'Tenet' in 2020 with the 'Batman' trilogy in between time in 2005, 2008 and 2012. The film cost US$100M to produce, saw its World Premiere showcasing in Paris on 11th July, was released in the UK, the USA and here in Australia last week, has so far grossed US$242M and has garnered universal critical acclaim.

The film opens in 1926 with a dishevelled looking 22-year-old J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) who has trouble sleeping at night and grapples with homesickness and anxiety while studying under the British experimental physicist Patrick Blackett (James D'Arcy) at the Cavendish Laboratory in the University of Cambridge, England. Oppenheimer finds Blackett demanding and injects an apple he leaves on his desk with cyanide which visiting scientist Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh) almost bites into but not before Oppenheimer thrusts it out of his hand and into a waste bin. Oppenheimer completes his PhD in physics at the University of Gottingen in Germany, where he is introduced to Werner Heisenberg (Matthias Schweighofer). He returns to the US, in the hope of expanding quantum physics research, and starts teaching at the University of California, Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology. During this period, he meets Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh), a member of the US Communist Party with whom he has an on-again off-again affair until her eventual suicide in 1944, and later his future wife Katherine 'Kitty' Puening (Emily Blunt), a biologist and ex-Communist whom Oppenheimer married in 1940 and with whom he has two children.

US Army General Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) enlists Oppenheimer to spearhead the Manhattan Project in order to develop an atomic bomb after Oppenheimer assures Groves that he has no communist sympathies. Oppenheimer, a Jew, is particularly focused on the Nazis and the very likely possibility that they have their own nuclear weapons programme underway, headed up by Werner Heisenberg. 

Oppenheimer recruits a scientific team that includes Edward Teller (Benny Safdie), Isidor Isaac Rabi (David Krumholtz) and David L. Hill (Rami Malek), to a purpose built town in the middle of nowhere at Los Alamos, New Mexico, to begin work on secretly creating the atomic bomb. During the development, Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) discuss how such a bomb could possibly trigger a chain reaction that has the potential to destroy the world. Oppenheimer also learns of a possible Soviet spy within his ranks who has potentially leaked the Manhattan Project's secretive intelligence data to the Russians.

When Germany surrenders in May 1945 some project scientists cast doubt over the bomb's continued importance. The bomb is completed and the initial 'Trinity' test is successfully conducted on 16th July 1945 just before the Potsdam Conference involving Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin which began on 17th July in Potsdam, Germany. US President Harry S. Truman (Gary Oldman) decides to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6th and 9th August 1945 respectively forcing Japan's surrender and thrusting Oppenheimer into the public eye as the 'father of the atomic bomb'. Haunted by the immense destruction and suffering the bombs caused, Oppenheimer personally urges Truman to use restraint in developing even more powerful weapons, saying that he has 'blood on his hands'. Truman perceives Oppenheimer's anxiety as a weakness, and states that, as President, he alone bears responsibility for the bomb's use. Upon leaving the Oval Office feeling very dejected Truman says to his aide that he doesn't ever want to see that 'scientist crybaby again'. Oppenheimer continues feeling intense remorse.

Oppenheimer is outspoken, in government circles, about any further nuclear development, especially of the hydrogen bomb, positioning him against Teller. His steadfast opinions become a point of contention amid the escalating Cold War with the Soviet Union. Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jnr.), chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission, has a personal beef against Oppenheimer for publicly dismissing his concerns over the export of radioisotopes and, as per Strauss' belief, badmouthing him to Einstein. 

At a four week kangaroo court hearing in 1954 intended to remove Oppenheimer from any and all political influence, and as largely cross examined by Roger Robb (Jason Clarke), Oppenheimer is betrayed by Teller's and other associates' testimony, including the final nail in the coffin delivered by William L. Borden (David Dastmalchian),stating that he firmly believed that J. Robert Oppenheimer was an agent of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile Strauss exploits Oppenheimer's associations with current and former communists such as Tatlock and Oppenheimer's brother Frank (Dylan Arnold).

Despite Rabi and several other allies testifying in Oppenheimer's defence, Oppenheimer's security clearance is revoked by a vote of 2 -1 although his loyalty to the United States was not brought into question. However, this did damage his public image and reduced to zero his policy influence. Later, at Strauss' Senate confirmation hearing as Secretary of Commerce, Hill exposes Strauss' personal motives in engineering Oppenheimer's downfall, which results in Strauss' confirmation being denied.

In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson presents Oppenheimer the Enrico Fermi Award (awarded to honour scientists of international stature for their lifetime achievement in the development, use, or production of energy) as a gesture of political rehabilitation. It is revealed that Oppenheimer and Einstein's earlier conversation was not about Strauss but rather nuclear weapons and their far-reaching impacts ultimately. Oppenheimer muses whether the Trinity test, to a large extent, his creation, could launch a chain reaction of events that could lead to a nuclear holocaust. 

'Oppenheimer' is possibly Christopher Nolan's best film offering yet, and that's saying something given the quality of his varied back catalogue over the past twenty or so years. Here he has crafted a film that is well scripted, stunningly photographed, and packed with emotion, intrigue, a stellar ensemble cast and an underlying message that is just as important today as it was almost eighty years ago. Cillian Murphy gives a tour-de-force performance as the torn and troubled Oppenheimer wrestling with his own inner demons over the magnitude of his creation and the implications for all of humankind, and is more than ably supported by Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jnr. This is a compelling film that tells the story of war, the people wielding the power and who you can ultimately trust that needs to be viewed on the biggest screen you can get to. It deserves all the accolades bestowed upon it come awards season, and despite it being largely a dialogue driven drama grips the attention from the get go, until the final half hour where the story drags just a little - but don't let that put you off. One of the must see films of the year for sure. Also starring Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Dane DeHaan, Matthew Modine, Scott Grimes, Alden Ehrenreich, James Remar and Olivia Thirlby.

'Oppenheimer' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

A QUIET PLACE : PART II - Tuesday 1st June 2021.

'A QUIET PLACE : PART II' which I saw this week is an M Rated eagerly anticipated long awaited American horror follow-up to 2018's 'A Quiet Place' which grossed US$341M off the back of a US$20M production budget, and was Co-Written, Directed and starred John Krasinski. For this sequel John Krasinski returns to the Directors chair and he also wrote, Co-Produced and once again has a small role in this film, even though his character was killed off in the first film. This film saw its World Premier screening in New York City back on 8th March 2020, with a worldwide release set from 20th March 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was rescheduled to 4th September 2020. It was then changed to 23rd April 2021 and then changed again to 17th September 2021. After three postponements, it was moved earlier in the year to last week. This film was made for US$61M, has so far grossed US$90M and has generated largely positive Critical acclaim. Apparently, in May of this year Emily Blunt revealed that her husband John Krasinski has an idea for a third instalment. 

The film kicks off on Day One of the alien attack, over a year before the events of the first film. The Abbott family are attending their son Marcus' (Noah Jupe) baseball game. Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) has just returned from a general store where he has picked up a supply of fresh oranges for the mid-game break. He sits with his daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and his wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt) talking with another Dad, Emmett (Cillian Murphy) about how the game is unfolding. Mid-game the players and the spectators notice a burning object in the skies above their town hurtling towards the Earth. 

Panic ensues and most attempt to get outta there quickly by retreating to their cars and driving off. Lee drives off with Regan and Evelyn drives off with her two sons, agreeing to meet back at their farm house. Needless to say it doesn't end well for the townsfolk when many are systematically attacked indiscriminately by rampaging blind aliens with hypersensitive hearing and seemingly impenetrable armour like skin. The Abbott's are able to get out alive, but only just having been chased down by one such alien, who dispenses with the local Police Officer instead. 

We then fast forward to day 474 since the aliens arrived on Earth and wiped out much of the population, including Lee who sacrificed himself at the end of the first film while attempting to save Regan and Marcus from an approaching alien creature. Regan had discovered that the aliens are vulnerable to high-frequency audio feedback, and devised a means of transmitting her cochlear implant hearing aid's noise through a microphone and radio, so allowing Evelyn to shoot the creatures dead while in their vulnerable state. And so with Lee dead, we pick up where the last film left off. The Abbott family, together with their newborn son leave the farm for good, with the barn burning and only what they can carry between them. Evelyn is carrying an oxygen cylinder for the newborn baby and Regan has retrieved a portable guitar amplifier and microphone with which to fend off any alien attack. They head off down the sand path in search for what might remain of human communities at which they can reestablish themselves.

The Abbott's come to what looks like an abandoned train yard and enter a fenced-off area. Evelyn treads on a trip wire causing a bunch of cans and bottles tied to a rope to come crashing down. She orders Regan and Marcus to 'run' as an alien is alerted by the jangling noise. Marcus runs over a bear trap and his foot is caught. He screams out in agony which only further serves to attract an alien. Evelyn is able to shoot it dead as it approaches and then she frees her son who can now barely walk. 

The family runs into an abandoned steel foundry just as another alien approaches. Inside, with the alien giving chase, they run into Emmett, who hurriedly takes them to his bunker under the foundry, and they all hide in a giant cauldron until the coast is clear. Later that evening when Marcus has had his injuries attended to, he and Regan hear a radio signal broadcasting the song 'Beyond the Sea' on a loop. Regan comes to the conclusion that it is a clue meant to lead survivors to a radio tower on a nearby island. 

She decides to venture out alone, much to Marcus' chagrin, to go there in secret and transmit the high-frequency noise her hearing aid produces, allowing anyone picking up the signal to use it to thwart the aliens. After realising that Regan has left, Evelyn begs Emmett to go find her and bring her back. He eventually catches up with Regan inside the wreckage of an old train carriage and saves her from an alien.  He tells her they will be returning at once. However, after explaining her plan to him and appealing to his sense of duty he reluctantly agrees to help complete her mission. Back at Emmett's bunker, Evelyn leaves Marcus and her baby for just a couple of hours to go in search of much needed needed medical supplies, including oxygen for the baby, and bandages and medication to treat Marcus' injured foot and ankle. While she is gone, Marcus decides to explore the foundry by torchlight. He is startled when he comes across the corpse of Emmett's deceased wife, sending him reeling backwards in shock and knocking over several objects on a nearby table. This alerts a nearby alien to his location. He runs quickly back to the bunker, bundles up the baby, grabs the oxygen cylinder and then inadvertently locks himself and the baby inside the cauldron.

Meanwhile, Emmett tells Regan that he has located a boat to get them across to the island. Under cover of darkness the pair search a marina for a suitable vessel, when they are attacked by a group of feral humans who attempt to take Regan with them, while binding Emmett with fishing net to which is tied cans and bells. While the ferals are walking down the jetty with Regan, Emmett motions to her to dive into the water, leaving him to deliberately attract two aliens that set about slaughtering the ferals. One alien falls into the water and flails about while another becomes trapped on a boat. By now Emmett is in the water himself watching the carnage unfold before him. He realises the aliens cannot swim. 

Regan secures a boat and the two escape. Regan and Emmett arrive at the island and find a colony of human survivors living a near normal existence. The community's leader (Djimon Hounsou) explains that when the government discovered the aliens were unable to swim, the National Guard moved as many people as possible to the islands, but when people began to selfishly fight to get aboard, the aliens attacked and destroyed all but two of the twelve boats scheduled to leave. 

In the bunker, Marcus and the baby begin to run out of oxygen in the cylinder and the cauldron is airtight. Marcus loses consciousness. Almost at the point of suffocation Evelyn returns carrying her much needed medical supplies and two full oxygen cylinders. Hearing the cacophony Evelyn distracts the alien by firing a bullet at one of the cylinders which explodes in a ball of flame enveloping the alien. But, the alien comes out the other side almost unscathed, so she disorients it by setting off the overhead sprinkler system and then saves Marcus and her young son by clambering into the cauldron but being mindful not to lock them inside. The three share the oxygen tank to survive while the alien waits outside.

The next day, Emmett discovers an alien has drifted to the island on a boat, carried along by the tide. Just as Emmett races to alert the island folk it emerges and starts slaughtering everyone in its path. Emmett, Regan, and the leader lure the alien to the radio station, but upon entering the leader is grabbed from behind and killed by the alien which then follows Regan and Emmett inside. Emmett sustains an injury to his leg by being clawed by the alien when he attempts to distract it, but Regan is able to play the high-pitched sound from her implant through the radio station's internal speakers so weakening the alien. She then walks towards the alien and brings down a heavy pole through its head, killing it outright. At the same time in the bunker, Marcus picks up the signal and routes it through his portable radio, weakening the alien waiting outside. He approaches holding the radio aloft and shoots it with Evelyn's revolver, killing it. Regan leaves her hearing aid on the radio station microphone, allowing anyone picking up the correct frequency to use the noise to fight them darn pesky no good aliens.

'A Quiet Place : Part II' is a great sequel to a great movie, and in this second instalment Director and Writer John Krasinski has crafted a scary, emotional, tense, taut, lean monster feature that ups the action, the suspense and the feeling of dread in a truly immersive piece of film making that proves he is no one trick pony. Emily Blunt's Evelyn here takes a back seat to the action (albeit remaining as equally grounded and more in protective maternal mode) that is more centered upon Millicent Simmonds Regan and newcomer Cillian Murphy's Emmett as the pair venture out to find salvation from the marauding alien monsters. Noah Jupe's Marcus also puts in a convincing turn as both son and daughter ultimately lay to waste an alien foe so saving themselves and a pair of incapacitated adults in the process. The production values are top notch, and both the Editor and Cinematographer deserve a special mention for the part they play in crafting three varying story lines into a coherent whole. My only gripe would be that the origin and what motivates the alien creatures to randomly kill every human in sight is not touched upon - at all, and as such it feels that Krasinski has all too little to say about them anyway, or that they are poorly conceived, or that for the audience he would rather let the slicing and dicing of their human prey do the talking. That said, 'A Quiet Place : Part II' is certainly well worth the price of your cinema ticket, and if these first two films in the series is anything to go by, then bring on 'A Quiet Place : Part III'.

'A Quiet Place : Part II' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

DUNKIRK : Monday 24th July 2017.

I saw 'DUNKIRK' in its 70mm format in one of only 159 cinemas worldwide showcasing this film in this way, and I'd have to say, that this is the only way to see this film! Back in the early '90's Christopher Nolan and his future wife, movie Producer and film collaborator Emma Thomas, were sailing across the English Channel to Dunkirk, when the young Writer and Director hit upon an idea for a film, about the evacuation of British armed forces from the war torn beaches of Dunkirk in mid-1940. He committed his idea to a 76 page Screenplay, and then put the whole idea on hold until such time as he had gained sufficient experience in making big epic blockbusting action film fare - the like of which he has more than proven he can do over the subsequent years. However, rather than making a film about the war time politics involving Churchill and his Generals; or showing the Germans on the beach head taking out allied forces with their strategically located gun placements; or paint this as a victory; or bring in Uncle Sam to save the day, he chose to make a film with an all English cast and from three perspectives - the air (involving Spitfire and Luftwaffe dog fights), the land (on the beaches of Dunkirk), and the sea (the evacuation of 400,000 troops by the Navy and any able bodied sea man who could steer a dinghy across the Channel to aid the rescue attempt).

And so armed with an ensemble cast of fine and lesser known English acting talent, Nolan has created a WWII action drama film where the dialogue is thin on the ground and there is no character backstory, instead allowing the suspense to come through the details and the authentic fact based story contained within the scenes. Nolan also made extensive use of practical effects - employing some six thousand extras, amassing a flotilla of boats that had participated in the real Dunkirk evacuation, and using genuine era-appropriate planes for aerial sequences. The film centres around the evacuation of British, French, Belgian and Canadian troops who are pinned down by German forces on the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, and their evacuation between 26th May and 4th June 1940 in what was known as 'Operation Dynamo'. The film Premiered in London on 13th July and was released worldwide last week, having cost US$100M to make it has so far grossed US$122M and has met largely with widespread acclaim.

The film is a triptych, with each separate clearly defined story overlapping through their engagement with the enemy while recounting the heroics, the ever present danger, the chaos and the gritty determination of everyday airmen, sea men, soldiers on the ground and the British general public in their concerted rescue attempts as they come under a constant barrage of attack by land, sea and air from the German forces. Told in a non-linear narrative style covering three different time periods - one on land covering a week and staged at one of two Moles protecting the outer harbour at Dunkirk from which ships were able to dock to evacuate the troops; one from the sea covering one day as the Royal Navy commandeer private boats to aid the rescue attempt across the English Channel; and one from the air covering one hour as a small squadron of three Spitfires fly across the Channel to provide air support to the men on the ground in Dunkirk. As the film opens up, an introductory text tells us that in 1940, after the invasion of France by Nazi Germany, thousands of Allied soldiers retreated to the French seaside town of Dunkirk. As the surrounding British perimeter shrinks, the soldiers await evacuation, a seemingly hopeless situation.

And so to the Mole, on land, where we meet young British Private Tommy (Fionn Whitehaed) who after a close encounter with German snipers survives and makes it behind Allied lines to the relative safety of Dunkirk beach and the amassed hordes of British and allied troops eagerly anticipating their imminent evacuation. There he meets Gibson (Aneurin Bernard) and the two stretcher an injured soldier across the beach to a waiting ship evacuating the wounded. The two lads are denied entry to the outgoing ship, but the injured man is carried aboard. Tommy and Gibson stow themselves away under the infrastructure of the Mole hoping to sneak abroad the next ship. German attack planes descend on the Mole, sinking the outgoing ship as it is about to leave the dock. In the chaos, the boys are thrown into the sea and save young Alex (Harry Styles) from being crushed as the ship sinks. They get on another boat later that night, but that is torpedoed by a German U-Boat and this time Gibson saves Tommy and Alex. The next day the three lads join a small group of Scottish soldiers who have spied a grounded fishing trawler further up the beach outside of the Allied perimeter. Hiding inside the vessel waiting for the tide to rise to refloat the boat, they are set upon by German soldiers who use the trawler for target practice shooting many holes in the boats hull, to the extent that when the boat does finally rise it lets in so much water that the men have to abandon it soon afterwards. As the vessel sinks, Gibson becomes entangled in some rigging and drowns. Alex and Tommy swim for a nearby minesweeper, but it is bombed and sinks. They are eventually picked up by Mr. Dawson's (Mark Rylance) boat in the vicinity of the sunken minesweeper that has been leaking oil heavily into the sea. They narrowly escape being engulfed in flames as a German plane is shot down and crashes into the sea in a ball of flame so igniting the oil slick. Mr. Dawson picks up a boat load of oil caked survivors and heads back for the white cliffs of England, and home.

Meanwhile on the Mole, Commander Bolton (Kenneth Branagh) has taken charge of the proceedings as the pier-master to coordinate the rescue and evacuation efforts. Together with Colonel Winnant (James D'Arcy) they discuss Churchill's rejection of Germany's offer for Britain to surrender and his commitment to see to it that 30,000 servicemen are evacuated, and that smaller civilian vessels had been ordered to aid the evacuation attempt to save the larger fleet for the defence of Britain. As the last vestiges of the British soldiers had been evacuated by a flotilla of smaller English boats of every size and description, so Winnant departs expecting Bolton to go with him. But stoically, Bolton stays behind stating that 300,000 British troops had been evacuated, and he would see to it that the French were next to be rescued.

To the sea, and Mr. Dawson does his duty to King and country without hesitation and sets of his motor cruiser (the 'Moonstone') with his son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) and teenage deck hand George (Barry Keoghan). Soon after departing into the English Channel they spot three Spitfire planes over head. The vessel shortly afterwards comes across a semi-sunken ship with a lone survivor sitting on the hull of the upturned vessel. They rescue him and welcome the bitterly cold soldier aboard (Cillian Murphy) who is clearly shell shocked. The soldier becomes very agitated when he learns that Dawson is heading to Dunkirk and not to England and demands that the boat be turned around immediately, saying that he cannot go back there for fear of certain death. A scuffle ensues, George is knocked below deck injuring himself badly and the soldier is ordered to sleep it off below deck. Dawson continues heading toward France. En route they witness a Spitfire ditch in the sea, and going to its rescue they haul out RAF Pilot Collins (Jack Lowden) who was about to drown in the cockpit of his rapidly sinking Spitfire. They then come across a stricken minesweeper under attack by a German bomber, and manoeuvre the vessel to take on soldiers fleeing the listing ship and spilling oil heavily into the sea - among them Tommy and Alex.

In the air, RAF Pilot Farrier (Tom Hardy) and two others - Collins and their Squadron Leader fly low over the English Channel to provide air support to the troops on the ground in Dunkirk. Along the way they encounter a Luftwaffe plane which shoots down the Squadron Leader. Farrier and Collins continue towards France monitoring their dwindling fuel supply regularly. In another mid-air skirmish the pair take out another German plane, but Collins has sustained damage to his Spitfire and is forced to ditch at sea. Farrier continues on regardless unaware of what the outcome was for his flying mate. Getting closer to France Farrier must switch to reserve fuel now. He then witnesses the bombing of the minesweeper and the sinking of the trawler on which Tommy and Alex managed to swim free. Reaching Dunkirk he takes out the German bomber aircraft that was hampering the evacuation attempts, so saving ships and lives in the process. He runs out of fuel and glides along the beach to the rapturous applause of the soldiers below, seeking a landing spot on the sand. He brings his aircraft down gently on the sand but outside of the Allied perimeter. He torches his plane and as it erupts in a ball of flame with him looking on, so he is taken prisoner by German soldiers.

'Dunkirk' adds another dimension to the history of war films in cinema just as 'Saving Private Ryan' did in 1998. Without getting bogged down in the political agenda of the WWII era, or the labouring back story of the principle cast, or the rights and wrongs as seen by either side, here Christopher Nolan has crafted a war film that is very much of a moment in time from the perspective not of heroes, but of everyday men responding to extraordinary circumstances in differing situations. We have young foot soldiers doing what they can to survive - run, hide, duck and weave; we have an ageing father doing his bit for his country to help bring his boys back home in their hour of need; we have a fighter pilot with a do or die attitude; and we have a naval commander who simply gets the job done with the minimal amount of fuss and then hangs back to do it all over again. Knowing the truth behind the Dunkirk evacuation makes this all the more a grounded story, backed up by strong performances, a stirring score by Hans Zimmer, and masterful Direction and Cinematography courtesy of Hoyte van Hoytema (who also worked with Nolan on 'Interstellar'). If I had any criticism it would be that the characters are emotionally bereft. They are all stoic, stiff upper lip, never say die middle class Englishmen with their focus squarely on the job at hand, and a such it's a little tough investing in them, and, in addition what of the role of women here - women in this film are banished to handing out cups of tea and jam sandwiches to evacuating troops below decks, but history tells us that they had more important roles to play! All that said, the film is rousing, stirring, uniquely realised, and totally immersive, and a must see on the biggest screen you can possibly find, and ideally in 70mm.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA : Tuesday 8th December 2015.

Back in 1820 a whaling ship from Massachusetts captained by George Pollard Jnr, was sunk in the Southern Pacific Ocean by a sperm whale - that ship was 'The Essex'! As a result of its sinking the twenty man crew spent months at sea having to go to extreme physical and emotional lengths in order to survive before the final eight men were finally rescued. Cabin Boy Thomas Nickerson and First Mate Owen Chase wrote an account of their ordeal at sea at the mercy of a sperm whale and that inspired Herman Melville's 1851 book, 'Moby Dick' - the story upon which Director Ron Howard has based his latest film taken from the 2000 book of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick - 'IN THE HEART OF THE SEA', which I saw earlier this week. Released in many of the major territories around the world, including Australia on 3rd December, it gets it's US release on 11th December, and having cost US$100M to make it has so far clawed back US$19M as of 6th December.

Out story opens up in Nantucket in 1819 which we are told is the centre of the world whale oil business, the fuel the lights and warms the homes and streets of the nation and beyond. It is a valuable commodity being traded for huge sums across all the major markets, and such whaling ship owners grow ever more hungry for the rich rewards to be reaped from the ocean depths and the various whale colonies that can be harvested for their oil, blubber and other by-products. One such shipman is Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) - a sea hardened whaleman who is as comfortable mid-ocean as he is back on dry land, and hungry for his first captaincy. With the promise of one such captaincy by the whaling fleet owner Paul Mason (Donald Sumpter), he is summonsed as First Mate to the offices of Mason for his next voyage on the recently refitted 'The Essex'. But, Mason renegs on his previous commitment and announces that this time George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) is to captain the vessel, and should they return with 2,000 barrels of oil, then Chase's captaincy is assured, without question, for the next voyage. Under duress, but with an extra financial incentive, Chase agrees, and 'The Essex' sets sail. Leaving Peggy (Charlotte Riley), his expecting wife behind, Chase says see ya later - will be back in under three years!

With the crew assembled, we quickly learn who's who in the zoo including young greenhorn Thomas Nickerson (Tom Holland) on his maiden voyage, and Second Mate, Matthew Joy (Cillian Murphy) a long term friend of Chase. What is also apparent early on is the seafaring differences between tried tested proven and experienced First Mate Chase, and the Captain who was born with a silver spoon in his arse and handed this captaincy on a plate with high expectations from his sea faring father. Needless to say it doesn't go well when Pollard over rules a decision made by Chase, and as a consequence steers the ship into a squall, and a fierce one at that resulting in the death of two men and much damage to the ship. This in turn sets the tone for the relationship between Pollard and Chase, with the Captain commanding that the ship returns to Nantucket for repairs. Chase convinces him otherwise and to continue the journey with the ship repaired and to go in search of whales.

Soon after they reach a happy hunting ground and spear their first sperm whale which brings in 45 barrels of whale oil and various other by-products, and the men rejoice in their success, but after this it is slow going and very slim pickings. They continue south and round Cape Horn, and then continue north up the west coast of South America crossing the Equator and coming into dock in Ecuador. There they meet up with the Spanish crew of another vessel who talk to them of a place 1,000 miles west following the line of the Equator, where whales blow as far as the eye can see. But the Spaniards also talk of a monster whale, the like of which has never been seen before that stalks ships, destroys them and hardened men with it - and they have the battle scars to prove it!

This raises the spirits aboard 'The Essex' and off the men set, having dismissed the talk of a monster whale. They venture further and further away from land with still no sight of any whales, and becoming increasingly despondent, and then in the distance, there they are - in their hundreds, and easy pickings. Launching three whaleboats armed with whaling spears and fathoms of rope they have easy pickings, this time, or so they think . . . not counting on the monster whale of the deep that attacks Chase's whale boat leaving it to return to the mothership for hasty repairs. Leaving the other two whaleboats out amongst it chasing down their prey, they are oblivious to the fate that awaits 'The Essex' when the deep sea whale monster returns for the attack striking at the heart of the ship puncturing a gaping hole in its side and causing all manner of irreparable damage, destruction and death.

When Pollard's attention is grabbed of his ship listing a short distance away, taking on water and with a downed mast Chase must explain that the damage was done by the mythical whale, who returns once more to make his presence felt and reinforce the fact that his a mean MoFo whale of a thing not to be messed with, and to leave his kind alone! Pollard gives the order to abandon ship and all surviving men gather what they can into the three remaining whaleboats, while 'The Essex' slowly sinks to the depths beneath.

What follows is the plight of the men stranded mid Pacific Ocean; 1,000 miles from land; with limited supplies; baking in the sun or tossed about in raging storms; slowly dying one by one from exhaustion, lack of water, starvation or their injuries sustained earlier on. Bobbing up & down the three whaleboats eventually become separated, and as the days become weeks which become months lost at sea with little hope of rescue, the men have to resort to extreme lengths in order to survive. Eventually they spy land by which time the boats have reunited - a remote island in the distance and their spirits lift, but only for a moment before the gigantic whale appears again and takes out another boat, leaving the survivors washed up and barley clinging onto survival. But they do, they regroup, get stronger and ready themselves to leave - four choosing to stay behind and take their chances, including a badly injured Joy.

The remaining two whaleboats cast off, venturing once more into the unknown. More weeks pass and suffering despair, panic, hunger, and thirst one whaleboat is picked up by a passing ship, and the other drifts close to land and is picked up too - the men all near death. Only eight survive, including Chase, Pollard and the young Nickerson, and of those eight, three remained on that island which Chase subsequently went back for.

The young Nickerson grows up, marries and the story is told by him almost thirty years later throughout the film by his older self in the form of Brendan Gleeson, recounting his story reluctantly one night to Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) a budding Author of fiction who had heard tale of the great whale and had hunted down Nickerson wanting a first hand account for his new novel. Nickerson had never before spoken of that fateful voyage but does so finally tempted by a financial incentive and the need after all these years to  bear his sole and cleanse his guilt and remorse. In 1851 Herman Melville published the fictional 'Moby Dick' based on the real life experiences of Nickerson and Chase abroad 'The Essex' thirty years earlier.

This is a film worth seeing on the big screen, and the story is well realised and delivered. At times though the CG is a little too obvious and as such a let down particularly when the action is up close and personal with jumping dolphins and whales en masse in an early whaleboat scene, or the close ups on or beneath the surface of the great whale. Benjamin Walker for me was a little stiff, and Chris Hemsworth with a Nantucket accent I am not so sure about. That said, it stands proud as a period piece with a number of redeeming features, will be fare better than the 2010 'Moby Dick' stinker but unlikely to top Gregory Peck and Orson Welles 1956 John Huston classic 'Moby Dick', but, it is entertaining enough to warrant the price of a ticket.

  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-