In the Heart of the Sea: A Reflection on the Story That Inspired the Legend
At the Helm of this adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrook's novel, Director Ron Howard uses his cinematic brilliance - not to tell - but to show the peril of the epic true journey of the ship Essex that inspired Herman Melville's fictional tale Moby Dick. In 1820, the New England crewmen aboard the Essex become submerged in a battle of survival when a whale of extraordinary size and power attacks, crippling their vessel and leaving the Essex adrift with ocean on all sides stretching for miles. With limited supplies, and in the midst of storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men must take drastic measures to beat the odds of dying at sea and, ultimately, inspiring Melville. In the beginning, as the writer (played by Ben Whishaw, the new Q in 007) sits down with one of the much-aged crewman, the film has an eerie Titanic-like feel. Much like the old lady in Titanic, you are unsure whether or not he is telling the truth. Tom Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson) is, after all, a was