In the Heart of the Sea

Herman Merville’s novel Moby Dick has an interesting film history, with the last notable adaptation of the epic being the 1976 John Huston film with Gregory Peck – Unless you count Moby Dick: 2010. Now the disaster-master Ron Howard has had a crack at it with In the Heart of the Sea – which tells the story of the sinking of the whale-ship Essex, which was one of the inspirations for the novel.

In the early 19th century, whale-oil is in hot demand, used to fuel the lights and industry of the era. Nantucket, Massachusetts is one of the centres of whale-oil production and one of its most profitable ships, The Essex has just been restored and ready to go out hunting. Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) is an experienced first mate who is due to be given his first command, but is disheartened to find out that he is only being offered his usual position because a Captain George Pollard, Jr (Benjamin Walker) has been assigned to the Essex. Pollard is part of a long-line of naval royalty and Chase feels that he is not experienced enough to command the vessel. Their relationship is off to a rocky start. 

After a series of unsuccessful months out at sea, the Essex crew is getting weary, but know they can’t return until they’ve “filled their belly” with oil. After a visit to South America, the crew learn of a mythic field of whales as far as the eye can see, so they set sail in the hope that they can finally bring their journey to an end. Although they also hear of a ‘monster’ whale that lurks in those fields, capable of sinking an entire ship. 

This is a fast-paced film overall and is split up into several distinct sections. The close-up action shots and detailed edits build a sense of tension that keeps you on the edge of your seat, however at times this works against the plot and makes it difficult to understand what’s happening. As Nickerson says, the story of the Essex is about two men, Own Chase and Captain George Pollard, Jr. and really the plot focuses on how their relationship evolves over the course of the disaster. Their polarizing backgrounds and lifestyles play out the classic class-war tale but ultimately this is a simple story about men trying to survive at sea whilst a ‘monster’ whale hunts them down. 

With the flourish of recent films that see characters surviving at sea (Life of Pi and Unbroken notably), we’ve seen a lot of CGI development put toward the ocean. Considering this is a major Hollywood release and that Howard made significant use of CGI in Apollo 13, it’s surprising that the sea and background landscapes sometimes can’t hold up to the level set by recent films. The scenes set in thriving 19th century Nantucket in particular, struggle to convey the complexity of the surroundings. 

Chris Hemsworth and Ben Whishaw both give admirable performances, although their accents don’t quite hold up throughout. Brendan Gleeson has a similar problem, although in his few short scenes he manages to out-act the rest of the cast. Cillian Murphy is sadly underused and Benjamin Walker’s character development feels slightly forced, although Waller is certainly one of the more interesting characters to see evolve as the situation unfolds. A stand-out for me was Tom Holland as the young Thomas Nickerson, who captures the conflicting fear and excitement with surprising finesse.

In the Heart of the Sea is a solid action film that keeps you interested throughout. Its skillful composition and editing construct a compelling story, however its occasionally confusing direction and questionable acting decisions hold the film back.