Call Me Herman

If your like us, sometimes you just want a rollicking sea tale, a story of tall ships and strong men. So we watched In the Heart of the Sea (2015). Somehow, this movie, directed by Ron Howard, escaped our notice completely when it came out, but as soon as we saw it in a preview, we had to see it.

It starts with Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) interviewing Owen Chase (Brendan Gleeson), the last survivor of the whaler Essex. The man is traumatized, and refuses to talk, but finally breaks down. As a young man (Chris Hemsworth), he was a top harpooner, expecting to be given his own ship for the next voyage. Instead, he is made Mate under Captain Pollard (Benjamin Walker). Chase is brash and self-made, Pollard is inexperienced but well-connected. They clash right off.

They aren't taking any whales in the Atlantic, so they head for the Pacific, where they find a large pod, including a whale of a size they haven't seen before. They try to harpoon him, but he staves the ship in and sinks it. Not the whaling boats, but the Essex itself.

So they are left adrift, tiny whaling boats in the great Pacific Ocean. And worse, it looks like the whale is following them.

As you probably figured out, this is the real-life story that in real life inspired Moby-Dick. It's a great yarn, even if only as historically faithful as you might expect. Hemsworth is heroic, although his American accent is a little slippery - hey, I don't know how we were supposed talk back then. Tom Holland has a nice role as cabin boy, who everyone is trying to protect.

But the best parts are the ships and the sea, and the grueling time at sea. The actors were put on starvation rations to give them the look, and it worked.

So if you like a good old fashioned yarn, like, say, Master and Commander, this might be for you.