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Whale oil was an important commodity in the mid-19th century, and demand led sailors to risk life and limb on whaling ships. A particular, real-life whaling ship disaster inspired me Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby-Dick and many years later the non-fiction chronicle In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship EsseXwhich in turn inspired a 2015 Ron Howard film that was docked on Netflix. But it’s not quiteMoby Dick What two hours worth of story could you spend on either book?

The essentials: Even in 2025, with plenty of scientific research available to us, whales are mysterious and fearsome creatures in their majestic size; Imagine how monstrous they must have seemed two centuries ago. Although In the heart of the sea The action takes place in 1850, when Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) visits the last survivor (Brendan Gleeson) of a whaling disaster. The majority of the story takes place at sea in 1820 and details the ordeal as the search for valuable whale oil goes horribly wrong. The protagonist of the story is not the captain, but the sterner and more determined first officer Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), who must make an even more difficult decision than he has to make after 14 months of a long mission that takes his crew far from their homes on Nantucket led, hits a whale. The attack destroys their ship. The sailors continue to struggle to survive, starving in tiny sailboats in an ocean that more closely resembles a lifeless desert. To make matters worse, it looks like the scarred whale is following them.

What will it remind you of?: In addition to various incarnations of Moby Dickthere are hints of elegance Throw away and the equally shocking The perfect storm or (swallow) Lively. In other words, it’s not a romp, although it’s still entertaining.

Performance worth seeing: This is one of those line-ups that became even more prominent in retrospect; The ensemble includes future Oscar winner Cillian Murphy and future Spider-Man Tom Holland. But it’s really a vehicle for Hemsworth, who is making his second Howard film in a row after the race car drama Rush. It’s a powerful, borderline performance, and many may prefer Hemsworth when he’s allowed to be a little funnier, weirder or more self-deprecating. But it’s undeniably interesting to see Howard treating him as a more old-fashioned kind of movie star.

Gender and skin: No. If there was anything funny in the harsh environment of a whaling ship, this film ignores it.

Memorable dialogue: “So it’s true?” Melville asks his storyteller at one point. “Yes,” he replies. “Too much is true.”

Our opinion: Although he initially made comedies and dramas, Ron Howard has, not undeservedly, earned a reputation as a journeyman and purveyor of relatively down-to-earth, straightforward studio fare. On paper, this is exactly the right thing In the heart of the sea Is; It doesn’t contain any truly surprising characters and doesn’t offer much insight into human behavior. But it’s also a reminder that as a stylist, Howard can really cook if he wants to; This film in particular could almost be mistaken for a Danny Boyle film, as it features frequent Boyle collaborators like Cillian Murphy and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. Mantle (who also served as cinematographer on the previous Howard/Hemsworth film). Rush) is really the key element here. To recreate 1820s Nantucket and sea life, Howard relies on numerous computer effects to augment his sets and backgrounds, such as a digital version of old-fashioned matte paintings, making the film’s reality feel both immersive and heightened. Of course, the whales also require the use of extensive visual effects. With his heavy use of blues and greens, his willingness to incorporate distorted close-ups and unusual angles, and his generally impressionistic style, Mantle bridges the gap between an old-fashioned epic that Howard might have written a decade earlier and a newer digital creation, that someone like Boyle might have dreamed up. The last film isn’t as captivating or thought-provoking as, for example 28 days laterstill as thrilling as the best Howard films; Here, Howard sometimes seems hesitant to defy convention, resulting in a harrowing survival drama that at times seems to shorten both its emotional moments and its visual invention, petering out in the final 15 to 20 minutes. But it’s still an unforgettable hybrid.

Our call: In the heart of the sea is more of a curiosity than a lost classic, but under these conditions it’s worth a two-hour couch trip to STREAM IT.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a Brooklyn-based writer. He regularly writes articles for The AV Club, Polygon and The Week, among others. He also podcasts on www.sportsalcohol.com.

Electricity In the heart of the sea on Netflix