In the Heart of the Sea (film) explained

In the Heart of the Sea
Director:Ron Howard
Screenplay:Charles Leavitt
Music:Roque Baños
Cinematography:Anthony Dod Mantle
Distributor:Warner Bros. Pictures
Runtime:122 minutes[1]
Language:English
Spanish
Budget:$100 million[2]
Gross:$94.3 million

In the Heart of the Sea is a 2015 historical adventure drama film directed and co-produced by Ron Howard from a screenplay by Charles Leavitt and a story by Leavitt, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver. An international co-production between the United States and Spain, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson. It is based on Nathaniel Philbrick's 2000 non-fiction book In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, about the sinking of the American whaling ship Essex in 1820, an event that in part inspired Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick.

The film premiered in New York City on December 7, 2015, and was released in cinemas in the United States on December 11, 2015, by Warner Bros. Pictures. In the Heart of the Sea received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office bomb, grossing only $94.3 million against a $100 million budget.[2] [3]

Plot

In 1850, author Herman Melville visits innkeeper Thomas Nickerson, the last survivor of the sinking of the whaleship Essex, offering money in return for his story. Nickerson initially refuses, but then finally agrees when his wife intervenes.

The story flashes back to 1820: a whaling company in Nantucket has refitted the Essex to participate in a whale hunt and bring back lucrative whale oil, and 14-year-old Nickerson signs on as a cabin boy. The owners hire veteran whaler Owen Chase as first mate, though he is disappointed not to receive a captain's commission. The captain is George Pollard, an inexperienced mariner from an established whaling family who envies Chase's skill and popularity. Chase and Pollard clash, leading Pollard to sail into a storm against Chase's advice. The two agree to put their differences aside, rather than risking their reputations by returning to port without profit, and soon, the crew kills their first bull sperm whale.

Three months pass with no further successes, and Pollard realizes that the Atlantic Ocean holds no sighting of whales. The Essex sails past Cape Horn to the Pacific, hoping for better luck in catching one. In Atacames, Ecuador, the officers meet a Spanish captain who tells them his crew found the bountiful "Offshore Grounds" 2,000 miles to the west, but claims that a vengeful "white whale" destroyed his ship, killing six of his men. Dismissing the story as a myth, Pollard and Chase lead the expedition west. They find the undisturbed grounds, but when they launch the whaling boats, a massive bull sperm whale with white, scarred skin attacks; damaging the boats and turning on the ship.

Chase harpoons it from the Essexs deck, but the whale rams the ship's hull, killing two men. With the hull stove in and pumps not working, the crew abandons the sinking Essex in the three intact whaling boats, and must sail hundreds of miles to shore with very limited supplies. The whale follows and attacks again, but they escape to the tiny Henderson Island, George Pollard presumes it could be Ducie Island, and admits there is no way to be certain without instruments. While gathering food, Chase discovers the long dead corpses of earlier castaways, after which the crew fears that they might die waiting on the island before another ship passes by. Just four men decide to stay, while the rest set sail again on the boats, with the hope of drifting along the trade winds and finding better lands. Soon after, one of the men dies, and the remaining crew reluctantly decide to cannibalise him.

The older Nickerson is overcome with remorse for his cannibalism and stops his story, thinking his wife could not love him if she knew about it; however, when his wife comforts him, assuring him that she still loves him, he feels encouraged enough to finish. Back in the 1820s, the three boats are separated by the currents and one is lost. The other two further resort to cannibalism to survive, with Pollard's cousin Henry Coffin sacrificing himself.

The white whale suddenly returns, and Chase gets into position for a final attack. The whale breaches for a moment, allowing Chase to observe a portion of his previously thrown harpoon still embedded above the whale's eye. Chase hesitates, and stares into the whale's left eye, as the whale stares back at Chase. After a moment of thought, Chase lowers his harpoon, deciding not to kill the creature. Following this encounter, the whale swims away peacefully, and is never seen again.

A passing ship rescues Pollard's boat, but Chase's boat continues to drift with no food or water. Finally, with the survivors on the verge of death, the latter's boat reaches Chile's Alejandro Selkirk Island. The survivors are all brought back to Nantucket, where they finally reunite with their distraught families. The Nantucket ships' owners ask Pollard and Chase to cover up the story to protect the industry's reputation, but Chase, deciding he has had enough of their dishonesty and that he no longer cares about them, refuses to go along and resigns. Pollard reveals the truth in the inquiry, much to their anger.

Nickerson relates that a ship was sent to Henderson Island to rescue the surviving men there, Chase continued sailing the seas and became a merchant captain, which his wife had said earlier would not change her love for him. Pollard led another expedition to find and kill the whale, but he was never able to find the animal. His ship ran aground off the Hawaiian Islands and he was forced to retire. Melville departs to compose his novel, Moby-Dick, beginning by writing its first line: "Call me Ishmael".

Cast

Production

Casting

The film was in development back in 2000, with Barry Levinson set to direct for Miramax Films.[6]

Chris Hemsworth was cast to play the lead, Owen Chase, in June 2012.[7] Tom Holland won the role of young Nickerson in April 2013.[8] Cillian Murphy signed on as Matthew Joy in June. Before Benjamin Walker was set to play the Captain, other actors that were considered included Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, and Henry Cavill.[9]

Nearly 200 wooden barrels were fashioned for the film by master cooper Alastair Simms, who also appeared in the film making the casks on the ship, as was common in the day.[10]

Filming

Principal photography began in September 2013 in London and at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Hertfordshire, England.[11] [12] It was also shot on location on the island of La Gomera (plus some scenes on Lanzarote) in the Canary Islands, Spain.[13] For the storm scenes, the production team built a water tank at Leavesden Studios, where a deck was built on top of a gimbal to mimic the pitch of a storm. To get the right effect, 500 gallons of icy water were poured from cannons.

During one point of filming, the cast and crew were forced to retreat to their hotel by a storm off the Canary Islands, which turned into a rare flash flood. The production shut down for a day and a half, expanding the shoot to 73 days, exactly as filmmakers expected.[14]

In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Hemsworth stated that to prepare for the role of starving sailors, the cast were on a diet of 500 - 600 calories a day to lose weight.[15] Hemsworth dropped his weight from 215 to 175 pounds (97.5 to 79.3 kg) to play Owen, saying that In the Heart of the Sea is "physically and emotionally the hardest movie that I've been a part of... Losing the weight to this length, I just never want to do it again, but it had such an emotional effect on us... in some small way, we felt like we were doing what these men went through justice."[16]

Music

Roque Baños composed the film score.[17] He was recommended by Hans Zimmer,[18] who was initially approached.

Release

The film was originally scheduled to be released in the United States and Canada on March 13, 2015, but was later pushed back to December 11 in order to convert the film into 3D as well as to give it higher chances of being an awards season contender.[19] Internationally, Warner Bros. decided to open the film early overseas—a week before its United States December 11 opening—to avoid competition with , which began its theatrical overseas from December 16.[20] The film was released in the Dolby Vision format in Dolby Cinema in North America.[21]

Home media

In the Heart of the Sea was released on DVD, Blu-ray & Blu-ray 3D on March 8, 2016. It was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on May 17, 2016.

Reception

Box office

In the Heart of the Sea was one of two flops released by Warner Bros in 2015, the other being Pan.[22] It grossed $25 million in North America and $68.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $93.9 million, against a production budget of $100 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film opened on December 11, 2015, in 3,103 theaters, including a number of 3D and IMAX theaters.[23] Box Office Mojo projected an opening weekend gross of $18 million, noting that the film's only competition was with the holdover of (in its fourth weekend of play).[23] The film earned $3.8 million on its opening day, including $575,000 from its early Thursday night showings.[24] In its opening weekend, it earned $11.1 million, finishing below expectations and narrowly losing to Mockingjay – Part 2, which earned $11.4 million.[25] Many box office analysts said the low opening was because audiences' enthusiasm was focused on the arrival of the following week.[23] [26] Regarding the film's disappointing opening, Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution executive vice president said "We stand behind Ron and his vision for the story, we believe in him. He's a terrific filmmaker. But some movies work and unfortunately some movies don't."[27] In its third weekend the film was pulled from 72.3% of theaters (3,103 to 685) the 4th biggest drop in history at the time.[28]

In the Heart of the Sea was released internationally a week prior to its United States opening in 38 markets and grossed a total of $18.5 million with 3.3 million admissions on over 9,500 screens. 50% of the plays were in 3D with 156 IMAX theaters which accounted for 7% of the total opening.[29] It went No. 1 in Russia and the CIS ($2 million) Italy ($1.7 million) and several other Asian markets such as Thailand and Taiwan and No. 2 in South Korea with $2.6 million, behind local hit Inside Men, Mexico with $1.9 million, behind The Good Dinosaur and Brazil with $1.3 million, behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.[29]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 42% based on 241 reviews and an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads "The admirably old-fashioned In the Heart of the Sea boasts thoughtful storytelling to match its visual panache, even if it can't claim the depth or epic sweep to which it so clearly aspires."[30] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100 based on 47 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[31] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[32]

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club calls the film "ravishing and very corny".[33]

Accolades

YearAward/Festival CategoryRecipient(s)Result
24th Heartland Film FestivalTruly Moving Picture Award
201615th Visual Effects Society Awards[34] Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
37th Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor (14 - 21)
18th Teen Choice Awards[35] Choice Movie: Action
Choice Movie Actor: Action
Choice Movie Actress: Action

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (12A) . . January 16, 2015 . January 16, 2015 . September 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920174112/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/heart-sea-film . live .
  2. 1390411. In the Heart of the Sea. April 2, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20230204040252/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1390411/. February 4, 2023. live.
  3. Web site: 'In The Heart Of The Sea': What The Hell Happened? – Sunday Box Office Report . July 20, 2022 . Deadline . December 13, 2015 . July 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220720163951/https://deadline.com/2015/12/the-heart-of-the-sea-box-office-why-it-bombed-1201666007/ . live .
  4. Web site: Cillian Murphy's 'Peaky Blinders' Renewed for a Second Season. The Irish Film & Television Network. Browne. Julie. 29 October 2013. October 30, 2013. October 16, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141016091625/http://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4286560&tpl=archnews&force=1. live.
  5. Web site: 'In The Heart Of The Sea' Adds Charlotte Riley; Cheyenne Jackson To Sing 'The Song'. Deadline Hollywood. 15 October 2013. Jen. Yamato. April 17, 2020. July 17, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140717024921/http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/in-the-heart-of-the-sea-charlotte-riley-cheyenne-jackson-the-song/. live.
  6. Web site: Chris Hemsworth To Topline Maritime Adventure 'In The Heart Of The Sea,' DreamWorks Circling. Indie Wire. Kevin. Jagernauth. 11 June 2012. 30 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20141020163945/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/chris-hemsworth-to-topline-maritime-adventure-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-dreamworks-circling-20120611. October 20, 2014. dead.
  7. Web site: Chris Hemsworth Boards Whale Of A Tale 'In The Heart Of The Sea'; Will DreamWorks Bite?. Mike Fleming Jr. Deadline Hollywood. June 11, 2012. December 8, 2015. January 31, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131115749/https://deadline.com/2012/06/chris-hemsworth-boards-whale-of-a-tale-in-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-will-dreamworks-bite-284524/. live.
  8. Web site: Ron Howard Whaling Tale 'In The Heart Of The Sea' Casts Tom Holland. Jen Yamato. Deadline Hollywood. April 10, 2013. December 8, 2015. January 31, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131120339/https://deadline.com/2013/04/ron-howard-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-tom-holland-moby-dick-472175/. live.
  9. Web site: Ben Walker in Talks for 'The Heart of the Sea' with Chris Hemsworth. Variety. Justin. Kroll. 7 May 2013. 30 October 2013. October 13, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141013064041/http://variety.com/2013/film/news/benjamin-walker-chris-hemsworth-heart-of-the-sea-1200472091/. live.
  10. Web site: Finney . Words Clare . The Last Master Cooper . Port Magazine . 7 April 2015 . 13 January 2024.
  11. Web site: Ron Howard starts shooting 'Heart of the Sea' in the U.K.. United Press International. 3 October 2013. 30 October 2013. October 16, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141016104551/http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2013/10/03/Ron-Howard-starts-shooting-Heart-of-the-Sea-in-the-UK/UPI-41361380825531/. live.
  12. Web site: Chris Hemsworth on Rush, Thor and being a God. The Guardian. Godfrey. Alex. 18 October 2013. December 11, 2016. November 30, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161130024041/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/19/thor-dark-world-chris-hemsworth. live.
  13. Web site: Production Begins on Ron Howard's Heart of the Sea. ComingSoon.net. 24 September 2013. April 17, 2020. October 20, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141020070855/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=109356. dead.
  14. Web site: How 'In the Heart of the Sea' Tamed the Elements. Steve Knopper. The Wall Street Journal. November 25, 2015. December 3, 2015. February 2, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220202122537/https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-tamed-the-elements-1448473340. live.
  15. Chris Hemsworth/Jane's Addiction; Episode #11.69. Jimmy Kimmel Live!. ABC. Jimmy: You're on some crazy diet right now I heard because of this movie you're shooting. Chris: ...and we have to get rather skinny, we're on about 500 or 600 calories a day. 4 November 2013. August 12, 2014. September 2, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140902105217/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TTFozTum7w. live.
  16. Web site: 'In the Heart of the Sea' was an ordeal to make. https://web.archive.org/web/20160401085513/http://m.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/heart-sea-ordeal-article-1.2456614 . dead . April 1, 2016 . Ethan Sacks. New York Daily News. December 5, 2015. December 7, 2015 .
  17. YouTube . www.youtube.com . limited . December 4, 2015 . October 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221027121530/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwOF_VXLpbA&gl=US&hl=en . live .
  18. 2015 . Composer Interview: Roque Baños . YouTube . July 23, 2020 . June 30, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230630151005/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q12iPLRic38 . live .
  19. News: Lesnick. Silas. Warner Bros. Delays Chris Hemsworth-Led In the Heart of the Sea. January 15, 2015. comingsoon.net. January 14, 2015. February 2, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220202124627/https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/399799-warner-bros-delays-chris-hemsworth-led-in-the-heart-of-the-sea#/slide/1. live.
  20. Web site: Box Office: 'In the Heart of the Sea' Hits Stormy Waters With $17.1M Foreign Debut. Pamela McClintock. The Hollywood Reporter. December 6, 2015. December 7, 2015. April 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210414043237/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-heart-sea-hits-846235. live.
  21. Web site: 'Star Wars' Dolby Cinema Release Could Push Forward the New Format. Carolyn Giardina. The Hollywood Reporter. November 16, 2015. November 17, 2015. August 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200818013311/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/star-wars-dolby-cinema-release-840567. live.
  22. Web site: Time Warner Reports Mixed Quarterly Results Due to Movie Flops. Brent Lang. Variety. February 10, 2016. February 10, 2016. February 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160211090147/https://variety.com/2016/film/news/time-warner-reports-mixed-quarterly-results-due-to-movie-flops-1201702038/. live.
  23. Web site: 'In the Heart of the Sea' Goes Hunting for #1 Before 'Star Wars' Arrives. Brad Brevet. Box Office Mojo. December 10, 2015. December 11, 2015. December 15, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151215011721/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4129. live.
  24. Web site: Box Office: 'In The Heart Of The Sea' Drowns With $3.78M Friday, 'The Big Short' Hits Jackpot. Scott Mendelson. Forbes. December 12, 2015. December 13, 2015. December 15, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151215052349/http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2015/12/12/box-office-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-drowns-with-3-78m-friday-the-big-short-hits-jackpot/. live.
  25. Web site: Box Office: Ron Howard's 'Heart of the Sea' Capsizes With $11M U.S. Debut. Pamela McClintock. The Hollywood Reporter. December 13, 2015. December 13, 2015. December 14, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151214214759/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/heart-sea-capsizes-11m-debut-848308. live.
  26. Web site: Box office: 'In the Heart of the Sea' could be sunk by 'Mockingjay' (and 'Star Wars'). Mikael Wood. Los Angeles Times. December 12, 2015. December 12, 2015. December 12, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151212203902/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-box-office-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-mockingjay-20151212-story.html. live.
  27. Web site: Box Office: 'In the Heart of the Sea' Flops With $11 Million Debut. Brent Lang. Variety. December 13, 2015. December 13, 2015. December 14, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151214165216/http://variety.com/2015/film/box-office/box-office-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-flops-with-11-million-debut-1201660029/. live.
  28. Web site: Biggest Theater Drops. Box Office Mojo. April 17, 2020. April 23, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190423032202/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/theaterdrops.htm. live.
  29. Web site: Holdovers Top Chart; 'Heart Of The Sea', 'Point Break' See Small Swells – Intl B.O. Final. Nancy Tartaglione. Deadline Hollywood. December 8, 2015. December 9, 2015. December 7, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151207132912/http://deadline.com/2015/12/mockingjay-part-2-spectre-the-martian-point-break-good-dinosaur-heart-sea-krampus-international-box-office-results-1201655479/. live.
  30. Web site: In the Heart of the Sea (2015). Rotten Tomatoes. November 1, 2020. October 28, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161028052640/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_the_heart_of_the_sea. live.
  31. Web site: In the Heart of the Sea Reviews. Metacritic. May 5, 2020. October 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201014032901/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/in-the-heart-of-the-sea. live.
  32. Web site: Katniss & Ron Howard's Whale In A Staring Contest For No. 1 . . December 14, 2015 . December 12, 2015 . May 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220520000156/https://deadline.com/2015/12/weekend-box-office-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-hunger-game-the-big-short-1201665157/ . live .
  33. Web site: In The Heart Of The Sea is ravishing and very corny . Ignatiy . Vishnevetsky . . December 10, 2015 . March 25, 2019 . March 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190325103421/https://film.avclub.com/in-the-heart-of-the-sea-is-ravishing-and-very-corny-1798185973 . live .
  34. Web site: 'Star Wars,' 'Game of Thrones,' 'The Peanuts Movie' Lead Visual Effects Society Nominations. Margaret. Lenker. January 12, 2016. December 10, 2017. August 15, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180815002826/https://variety.com/2016/film/in-contention/star-wars-the-force-awakens-game-of-thrones-peanuts-movie-visual-effects-society-award-nominations-1201677466/. live.
  35. Web site: Teen Choice Awards 2016 Nominations Announced: See the "First Wave" of Potential Winners . Vulpo . Mike . . May 24, 2016 . May 25, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160526090121/http://www.eonline.com/news/767635/teen-choice-awards-2016-nominations-announced-see-the-first-wave-of-potential-winners . May 26, 2016 . live . mdy-all .