Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Disaster films are 10-a-penny these days, and, after the success of Titanic, maritime catastrophes seem to be one of the more common trends in this overflowing genre.
It seems like it was only a couple of months ago that I was reviewing a movie similar to this. Oh wait, it was …
But to my surprise, The Finest Hours brews up a cinematic storm in itself and rides a wave higher than its competitors thanks to a focus on keeping things simple and focussing on the characters rather than making the set pieces as dramatic and effects-laden as possible.
Events are set in 1952 and the story recalls the real-life tale of an improbable Coast Guard mission to save a distressed oil tanker, the SS Pendleton, during a massive storm.
The story’s hero is Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), a humble Coast Guard captain in Chatham, Massachusetts. In the film’s long preamble, Webber and his pal Gus go on a double date, and we are introduced to Webber’s love interest, Miriam (Holliday Grainger), who will soon become his fiancée.
The old cars, quaint atmosphere and New England accents tell us we’re in a nobler time and place where women have to be courted and men have to display heroism and courage to win hearts.
Soon after, a vicious nor’easter hits, and the SS Pendleton literally cracks in two, leaving more than 30 men stranded on a sinking vessel. First assistant engineer Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) is a loner who reluctantly finds himself in charge of getting people to safety, while on the shore, Warrant Officer Daniel Cluff (Eric Bana) orders Webber and a small crew to take a tiny rescue boat into the raging waters.
The film has a notable nostalgic glow and reverential sentiment. However, this doesn’t diminish the dramatic feat as it only heightens the drama of what was the greatest rescue mission in the service’s history.
Strong acting anchors proceedings from start to finish. Pine trades in the captain’s chair of the Enterprise for the helm of the rescue boat, a woefully undersized vessel for such a large-scale rescue in seas raging with giant waves. He proves that he can be just as much of a hero with modesty and courage as opposed to the cocky and instinctive Captain Kirk.
Affleck, forever trying to break out of his older brother’s shadow, gives an understated performance that oozes leadership and calm despite the turmoil raging around him, both within his head and in the deep blue menace.
The romantic subplot (how often have I mentioned those infernal things in my movie reviews?) is a mixed bag here. Pine and Grainger make for a sweet couple that have some genuinely emotional, quiet moments, but sequences of Miriam charging in to confront Bernie’s USCG commanding officer and getting stuck in a snowbank just feel like filler and neither are as cinematic nor as emotional as those of the crews trying to stay alive at sea.
It seems strange that in a genre crammed with movies trying to outdo each other with special effects and widespread destruction, that The Finest Hours downplays these elements. The fact that it works should be a message to other directors planning to join in with the genre deluge.
Like its salt-of-the-earth protagonists who refuse to tout their heroism after the fact, the adamantly low-key and workmanlike approach suits it as we can empathise with these characters who view their experiences as just another day in the office.
That isn’t to say that on a technical level, the film disappoints. Far from it, the visual effects convince you that you’re actually a bystander enduring the freezing, crashing waves of the merciless Atlantic. The only problem is that the storm took place at night, and so true to the event, the film depicts this too. It unfortunately means that a lot of sequences are dimly-lit and it’s occasionally difficult to distinguish elements of the picture. When it does work, it dazzles though.
The Finest Hours is one of the better disaster movies of recent times, and certainly a far more enjoyable naval affair than In the Heart of the Sea which debuted at the end of last year. With compelling characters, down-to-earth sensibilities and strong performances, this is a storm worth brewing if you can excuse a couple of plot missteps and a murky palette.
Showing at Cineco, Seef II, Saar, Dana Cineplex
Rating: 3/5
