The Finest Hours
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Written by: Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson - Based on the book by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias
Starring: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz, Kyle Gallner, John Magaro, Beau Knapp, Eric Bana, Abraham Benrubi, Keiynan Lonsdale, Matthew Maher
Action/Drama/History - 117 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 27 Jan 2015
Written by: Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson - Based on the book by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias
Starring: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz, Kyle Gallner, John Magaro, Beau Knapp, Eric Bana, Abraham Benrubi, Keiynan Lonsdale, Matthew Maher
Action/Drama/History - 117 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 27 Jan 2015
Observing I was headed to a screening of The Finest Hours, a friend of mine (Hi Brooke) asked, “Do we need another dudes at sea movie?” First off, Disney believes the market can handle it but has there been a glut of recent masculine maritime adventures? In the Heart of the Sea and Captain Phillips immediately spring to mind as does The Perfect Storm (the closest kin to The Finest Hours), but that one is certainly not considered recent. There is also Black Sea, All Is Lost, and A Hijacking just to spit a few more out from the past couple years. My friend may have a point. Are audiences beginning to experience cinematic sea sickness? Disney’s The Finest Hours does nothing to separate itself from this previous list and by comparison, it falls far short of Captain Phillips and All Is Lost and will be as quickly forgotten as that one with Jude Law and the submarine; you know, Black Sea or something.
Disney loves them some “based on a true story” tales they can spin to the general public as family friendly and inspiring. Usually involving some sort of athletic underdogs, think McFarland, USA, Cool Runnings, Miracle and about a dozen others, The Finest Hours showcases some plucky Coast Guard underdogs maneuvering water craft against uninformed superiors, cascading waves too large for their boat, and the lackluster expectations of the townsfolk back on shore. Fingers crossed they succeed against all hope and prove everybody wrong in the end. To either emphasize the waves are imposing or most likely, to add a few bucks on to your admission price, the filmmakers converted the movie into 3D during post-production. It is superfluous; I cannot recall a single instance when an object or person was effectively enhanced by appearing closer to my eyeball.
Disney loves them some “based on a true story” tales they can spin to the general public as family friendly and inspiring. Usually involving some sort of athletic underdogs, think McFarland, USA, Cool Runnings, Miracle and about a dozen others, The Finest Hours showcases some plucky Coast Guard underdogs maneuvering water craft against uninformed superiors, cascading waves too large for their boat, and the lackluster expectations of the townsfolk back on shore. Fingers crossed they succeed against all hope and prove everybody wrong in the end. To either emphasize the waves are imposing or most likely, to add a few bucks on to your admission price, the filmmakers converted the movie into 3D during post-production. It is superfluous; I cannot recall a single instance when an object or person was effectively enhanced by appearing closer to my eyeball.
Adapted by some heavy hitters from the book of the same name by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias, The Finest Hours focuses on a major storm throttling Massachusetts in 1952 and the courageous Coast Guard response to aid some oil tankers in serious trouble out at sea. What is it about 1952 and the northeast recently? Just last month, both Brooklyn and Carol showcased their aesthetically pleasing versions of the northeast in 1952. In real life, two shoddily constructed 500-ft oil tankers split in two during the storm. The first tanker received the majority of attention from the Boston and Nantucket Coast Guard stations. Our tanker, the SS Pendleton, never sent a distress call as the front half of the ship promptly sank to the bottom of the ocean along with every single officer on board.
Tasked to lead the rescue of the survivors on the still afloat tanker stern is Bernie Webber (Chris Pine, Into the Woods). Bernie is a capable coxswain but lacks confidence in himself as a boat pilot after a failed rescue attempt a year ago and also is viewed as a somewhat sketchy rescue man by some of his Coast Guard mates and some bitter townies who vaguely mention the incident as well. Naturally, since the storm of the century hammers small Chatham, Massachusetts, and sets Bernie on a course of near certain death, he just got engaged the night before to Miriam (Holliday Grainger, Anna Karenina). Disney also maintains a penchant for impeccable timing.
Engine man Raymond Sybert (Casey Affleck, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) is the unlucky soul on the Pendleton who must try and keep the remaining half of the ship above water while simultaneously containing a brewing anarchy amongst the survivors on what to do next. Since everyone who had a leadership position on the Pendleton is dead, stepping up to lead the scared and ready to rumble crew is nobody’s idea of a plum position. However, Raymond has enough smarts to convince the men on their best course of action and construct some ad hoc fixes to the slowly sinking contraption.
I assume director Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm, Lars and the Real Girl) instructed both Chris Pine and Casey Affleck to underplay their characters; no shouting, little confidence, but gradually escalating determination. Pine and Affleck whisper important lines other action heroes would yell and wave their arms to call attention to. They frequently avoid eye contact and put their hands in their pockets. If this was a conscious recommendation from Gillespie, then it was a wise move with a payoff. The persistent tidal waves and obnoxious non-believers of the two are loud enough without our leading men adding to the ruckus.
Bernie follows through on a very predictable character arc from dutiful rule follower and regulations parrot to thoughtful leader who realizes some rules must be broken for the greater good. Affleck comes off as the most believable and effective on screen persona because he is not faking a Boston accent. Everyone else’s seems a bit off. Most absurdly, Eric Bana (Lone Survivor) as the new chief of the Chatham Coast Guard Station, the one hard-headedly sending our crew to certain doom, sports a grotesque southern accent to separate himself even more from his men. Bana is Australian and has accomplished accents before, but I’m guessing Gillespie forced whatever dialect this is on him. Also, the chief is a cardboard caricature in an extremely underwritten role. His sole purpose is to hide behind his desk and dare someone to question his authority. Why an actor with Bana’s resume fills this plug-n-play function is a question mark. Take a pass on The Finest Hours; there is a good chance you will forget most of it before you get back to your car.
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