In the Heart of the Sea

Based on Nathaniel Philbrick's bestselling 2000 nonfiction book about the sinking of the whaling ship Essex in 1820—an ill-fated voyage that inspired Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick—the story here begins in 1850 with a metaphysical question: “How does one know the unknowable?” To discover the answer, ambitious author Melville (Ben Whishaw) tracks down aging Tom Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), a haunted seaman who served as a teenage cabin boy (Tom Holland) aboard the doomed Essex. Nickerson relates a story revolving around experienced whaler Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), who served as First Mate under Captain George Pollard, Jr. (Benjamin Walker), an “entitled” Nantucket native who inherited command from his patrician family. Setting forth, the crew is determined to return home with a payload of precious whale oil. But weeks stretch into months before they locate one pod, and it's a long time before they encounter another. Ever hopeful, they sail around Cape Horn and into the South Pacific, stopping in Ecuador, where they're told about a massive, demonic whale, mottled whitish in color. When they spy this monster, it seems to be relentlessly determined to wreak havoc on the Essex, leaving her hapless crew stranded and starving on the open sea. Director Ron Howard struggles to maintain emotional involvement, but he is missing a charismatic lead. John Huston's 1956 Moby Dick benefited from a powerful performance by Gregory Peck, but hunky Hemsworth flounders in this waterlogged survival saga. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the featurette “Chase & Pollard: A Man of Means and a Man of Courage” on the real-life subjects (8 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted scenes (36 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Lightning Strikes Twice: The Real Life Sequel to Moby Dick” (29 min.), “Ron Howard: Captain's Log” (16 min.), “Commanding the Heart of the Sea” (11 min.), “The Hard Life of a Whaler” (9 min.), and “Whale Tales: Melville's Untold Story” (9 min.), extended scenes (7 min.), an “Island” montage (3 min.), and bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)