Year: 2016
Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Holliday Grainger, Graham McTavish, and Eric Bana
Tagline: 32 survivors. Room for 12.
Synopsis: In 1952, a nor-easter broke a tanker ship in two. As the storm continued to rage, the Coast Guard was sent to rescue the survivors. Based on the remarkable true story.
Tagline: 32 survivors. Room for 12.
Synopsis: In 1952, a nor-easter broke a tanker ship in two. As the storm continued to rage, the Coast Guard was sent to rescue the survivors. Based on the remarkable true story.
Review
Every year, about this same time, I seem to see a movie that is based on a true story. Two years ago it was Monuments Men. Last year it was Unbroken. And this year it was The Finest Hours. All three films are about remarkable actual events. Unfortunately, all three movies have been disappointments where the film fell far shy of the stories' potential.
My hopes for The Finest Hours were never particularly high. I'd seen the trailer and it looked like a nice, inspiring story. And it is. It is a nice, inspiring story told in a nice, old-fashioned way ... that takes way too long to get to the good stuff. The film's main problem is pacing. It starts slow. Very slow. I'm all in favor of taking time to get to know the characters ... but this was just belabored setup. The story felt sluggish up until Bernie (Chris Pine) and the other three men are on their little lifeboat headed out to the rescue.
I should clarify. The buildup on land is sluggish. Every scene of what is going on aboard the stern of the S.S. Pendleton is gripping and solid. The men are trying to figure out how to get themselves rescued before their half of the ship sinks. Maybe it's because their situation is more dire or because they have more to do, but those segments were never dull. And Casey Affleck as the ship's reluctant new leader is fascinating to watch. His character is instrumental in saving the crews' lives and he is instrumental in saving the film.
The film tries desperately to give Bernie's fiancee, Miriam, something to do. But aside from worrying, and accepting that that is part of the deal when you date/marry a man in the Coast Guard, there's just not much for her to do. The more she was on screen, the less I cared about her.
When it comes time for the actual rescue the film does itself credit. It is edge-of-your-seat action with intensity and drama as 30+ men are trying to get off a sinking half-of-a-ship and onto a lifeboat meant to hold just over a dozen men. The visual effects are also solid and keep you invested in the moment. From the rescue to the end of the film, the story telling and pacing are where they need to be. It just took so long to get there.
One thing that stood out to me in the film were the subtle religious references. It didn't seem quite sure what to do with them, but they were at least there and I give the film props for not omitting them. Though we do not hear any vocalized prayers, the men aboard the ship are shown praying together. And at other times, a character would bow their head, possibly in thought, but just as possibly in prayer. Also, when Miriam is in the home of a sailor's widow, there is a direct reference to Psalm 23 and Warner Sallman's painting "Christ Our Pilot" can be seen hanging on the wall. Having no way of knowing how religious the men were in real life, I can't say if more emphasis on those religious themes would have been appropriate or not. At one point Bernie says they found the wreckage by "luck"; I personally don't think "luck" had anything to do with it.
The Finest Hours isn't a great film. But it's a fine film about a great story. There's no sex, no violence, no swearing. It's an old-fashioned rescue tale. It's a story about ordinary men with the courage to do something extraordinary for the good of others. Although it starts slow, the climax is (mostly) worth the wait. Overall, it's worth a view on Netflix some night.
My hopes for The Finest Hours were never particularly high. I'd seen the trailer and it looked like a nice, inspiring story. And it is. It is a nice, inspiring story told in a nice, old-fashioned way ... that takes way too long to get to the good stuff. The film's main problem is pacing. It starts slow. Very slow. I'm all in favor of taking time to get to know the characters ... but this was just belabored setup. The story felt sluggish up until Bernie (Chris Pine) and the other three men are on their little lifeboat headed out to the rescue.
I should clarify. The buildup on land is sluggish. Every scene of what is going on aboard the stern of the S.S. Pendleton is gripping and solid. The men are trying to figure out how to get themselves rescued before their half of the ship sinks. Maybe it's because their situation is more dire or because they have more to do, but those segments were never dull. And Casey Affleck as the ship's reluctant new leader is fascinating to watch. His character is instrumental in saving the crews' lives and he is instrumental in saving the film.
The film tries desperately to give Bernie's fiancee, Miriam, something to do. But aside from worrying, and accepting that that is part of the deal when you date/marry a man in the Coast Guard, there's just not much for her to do. The more she was on screen, the less I cared about her.
When it comes time for the actual rescue the film does itself credit. It is edge-of-your-seat action with intensity and drama as 30+ men are trying to get off a sinking half-of-a-ship and onto a lifeboat meant to hold just over a dozen men. The visual effects are also solid and keep you invested in the moment. From the rescue to the end of the film, the story telling and pacing are where they need to be. It just took so long to get there.
One thing that stood out to me in the film were the subtle religious references. It didn't seem quite sure what to do with them, but they were at least there and I give the film props for not omitting them. Though we do not hear any vocalized prayers, the men aboard the ship are shown praying together. And at other times, a character would bow their head, possibly in thought, but just as possibly in prayer. Also, when Miriam is in the home of a sailor's widow, there is a direct reference to Psalm 23 and Warner Sallman's painting "Christ Our Pilot" can be seen hanging on the wall. Having no way of knowing how religious the men were in real life, I can't say if more emphasis on those religious themes would have been appropriate or not. At one point Bernie says they found the wreckage by "luck"; I personally don't think "luck" had anything to do with it.
The Finest Hours isn't a great film. But it's a fine film about a great story. There's no sex, no violence, no swearing. It's an old-fashioned rescue tale. It's a story about ordinary men with the courage to do something extraordinary for the good of others. Although it starts slow, the climax is (mostly) worth the wait. Overall, it's worth a view on Netflix some night.
Quotable Quotes
- "Please tell me we're taking that boat to a bigger boat." -- Ervin Maske
- "We all live or we all die." -- Bernie Webber
- "How'd you find us?" "Uh, we kinda just got lucky." -- Ray Sybert and Bernie Webber (Sybert had previously expressed his disbelief in luck)
ISFS
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