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 click for full sized poster |
The Perfect StormRated [PG-13],
132 minutes |
Before we begin: both George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg talked with our west coast guy Paul Fischer for CrankyCritic® StarTalk. Paul's review is below. Cranky, who disagrees strongly with the conclusions below, can be read here.
In October 1991, the Andrea Gail, a sword-fishing boat out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, set sail on a routine voyage. After ten days, the ship was 100 miles out to sea when a dying tropical hurricane from Bermuda collided with a cold front from the Great Lakes, resulting in "the perfect storm," a typhoon of previously unknown destructive impact that resulted in 100-foot waves; the Andrea Gail was caught in the middle of the fearsome storm, with shattering results. Based on the best-selling book by Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm tells the story of the ship's brave and hardworking crew, including Captains Billy Tyne (George Clooney), Bob Shatford (Mark Wahlberg), Dale Murphy (John C. Reilly), and David Sullivan (William Fichtner).
Ever since the movies were born, the sea and its all-consuming symbol of Man's fight against nature have fascinated filmmakers. Director Wolfgang Petersen returns to top nautical territory for the first time since Das Boot to bring to the screen this true-life story of heroism and mateship. It's a film that is masterful in all respects, in that it is not only a great piece of movie making, but Petersen has given us a work of remarkable depth combined with an emotional core that is far from manipulative. It would have been easy for Hollywood to turn this story into a simplistic disaster film, but Petersen is cleverer than that. His is a movie that examines the sheer brutality of the elements and pulls no punches in the process, yet this is a story of how Man tries to combat those elements, and despite the large number of characters he deals with, does so in an intricate fashion. This is as much a drama about character, as it is about large waves, and the result is an powerful and hypnotic drama, that is consistently relentless in its stunning imagery and depth.
While it is true that the storm sequences were made possibly by some extraordinary digital effects, the success of Perfect Storm is in its ability to make the audience completely forget that much of what we see is illusory. The mark of truly great cinema, is its skill in making us a part of the onscreen drama, something that occurs rarely in American movies. Unlike Titanic, which indeed simplified tragedy by using cinematic trickery (and bad acting), Perfect Storm deals with very similar issues, yet remains true to itself and the material. As overpowering as the storm sequences are, through remarkable cutting and sound effects, as well as visuals, Petersen heightens the drama to such an extent that we, as an audience, become immersed in the action. This is astonishing filmmaking, and, with the added bonus of an exemplary ensemble cast, you have a film that is dramatically compelling, visually absorbing and emotionally real.
Perfect Storm is a stunner of a film, and compared to much of the popcorn pap released by studios during the North American summer, this film stands apart. © 2000 Paul Fischer