"The Perfect Storm" is an ambitious movie on more than one level. It is heavily laced with special-effects, and has to maintain our interest in its characters and plot while we wait for these effects to appear. It does actually accomplish this task pretty well. On a smaller scale however, it risks being tagged as exploiting a local tragedy for financial gain. Everyone knows that the movie focuses heavily on the events leading up to the loss of the Andrea Gail, a Gloucester swordfishing boat, at sea during the cataclysmic storm caused by Hurricane Grace in 1991. As someone who did not grow up in Gloucester and had friends or family who fished for a living, I cannot say how it would feel to see this movie in that light. I can say that from the perspective of an outsider, I came out of this movie with a greater understanding, if not a respect for the tenacity with which people will fight for their lives in unbearable conditions, and the bravery that can result. If that is not a tribute, than at least it is a compliment.
The movie stars George Clooney, as Billy Tyne, captain of the Andrea Gail. He is disappointed with the slump his catch has been in lately, and enjoys a friendly rivalry with another successful captain played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantoinio, who is probably the closest thing to a love interest he could have in his life. He is dedicated to fishing however, and although the season is all but over, he decides to go out one last time to the far reaches of the ocean to redeem himself.
His crew, put together of the usual ragtag bunch, is not happy to be putting out again so soon but they reluctantly go along with it when he promises them the best catch they've ever had. Bobby Shatford (Wahlberg) is dating a recently divorced woman (Diane Lane) who lives above the local bar and is sorry to leave her behind, but as he puts it, "then again, I love to fish." The other members of the crew all have their own personal issues to leave ashore, including Murph, who suffered a difficult divorce and estrangement from his son. Bugsy attempts to pick up a local woman who resists his charms at first but slowly warms to him, and appears on dock to wave him off.
These issues are all put aside once the men set out to sea. Billy Tyne wants to go all the way past the Grand Banks to the Flemish Cap, where the fish are; their abundance explained mainly, I gathered, because few fishermen will travel that far. This leads to their being on the outskirts of what proves to be the biggest storm on record, due to a collision between three already dangerous storms. It occurs right in the path the Andrea Gail must take to get back, and when the ice machine breaks down and time is of the essence, the crew makes this decision based on their belief that they can handle it.
They are wrong, of course. But no one truly understood ahead of time how bad the storm would be, and when their antenna blows off, communication is lost. The movie intercuts scenes aboard the Andrea Gail with those of a wealthy sailboat owner who takes his family out on a trip to Bermuda and is resistant to advice to turn around when the storm hits. A Coast Guard rescue attempt is made, and another, ill-fated one is attempted for the Andrea Gail as well.
What the movie does is tell the story of what is known about the Andrea Gail and add dramatic developments. Two of Tyne's fishing crew are at odds with each other for reasons I still don't quite understand, and Wahlberg is motivated by a need for cash to support his girlfriend's custody battle for her children. The personalities of the men play off each other, but when the storm hits and situation is grim, all that matters is the weary struggle to stay alive in impossible conditions.
In the midst of the storm we get visuals of remarkable impact; of powerful winds whipping mist across the whitecaps, tremendous swells and the tiny fishing vessel being tossed across them, and it all looked real enough to me. I believed it when Clooney climbed out on a wildly swaying beam to cut the chain tying the anchor that swung dangerously about in the gale, and the now-famous shot of the Gail climbing up the side of a monstrous wave, is very effective as well. The wave was created using computer generated images after researching extensively how ocean water behaves in such conditions, but I wasn't thinking that when I saw it.
Purists may find that the Gloucester in the movie contains only a handful of recognizable locations, and seems to sprawl more than at least I remember it, having spent some time there during college. What is believable is how the locals gather around the TV in the tavern to watch the weather reports; this is pretty much how I would imagine they would react. And I liked the little details the movie offers about how the swordfishing business works, and the remorse the boat's owner (Michael Ironside) displays when it appears to be lost.
The movie will not generate much suspense for New Englanders about the fate of the Andrea Gail, but it does do a convincing job of telling its story with grace and dignity for its crew. I was reminded of another weather-related special-effects movie, "Twister" which consisted of one convincing tornado after another with almost no substance in between. I felt more strongly about the characters in "Perfect Storm" and cared about what happened to them. In a way, that's a tribute in itself.
The movie stars George Clooney, as Billy Tyne, captain of the Andrea Gail. He is disappointed with the slump his catch has been in lately, and enjoys a friendly rivalry with another successful captain played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantoinio, who is probably the closest thing to a love interest he could have in his life. He is dedicated to fishing however, and although the season is all but over, he decides to go out one last time to the far reaches of the ocean to redeem himself.
His crew, put together of the usual ragtag bunch, is not happy to be putting out again so soon but they reluctantly go along with it when he promises them the best catch they've ever had. Bobby Shatford (Wahlberg) is dating a recently divorced woman (Diane Lane) who lives above the local bar and is sorry to leave her behind, but as he puts it, "then again, I love to fish." The other members of the crew all have their own personal issues to leave ashore, including Murph, who suffered a difficult divorce and estrangement from his son. Bugsy attempts to pick up a local woman who resists his charms at first but slowly warms to him, and appears on dock to wave him off.
These issues are all put aside once the men set out to sea. Billy Tyne wants to go all the way past the Grand Banks to the Flemish Cap, where the fish are; their abundance explained mainly, I gathered, because few fishermen will travel that far. This leads to their being on the outskirts of what proves to be the biggest storm on record, due to a collision between three already dangerous storms. It occurs right in the path the Andrea Gail must take to get back, and when the ice machine breaks down and time is of the essence, the crew makes this decision based on their belief that they can handle it.
They are wrong, of course. But no one truly understood ahead of time how bad the storm would be, and when their antenna blows off, communication is lost. The movie intercuts scenes aboard the Andrea Gail with those of a wealthy sailboat owner who takes his family out on a trip to Bermuda and is resistant to advice to turn around when the storm hits. A Coast Guard rescue attempt is made, and another, ill-fated one is attempted for the Andrea Gail as well.
What the movie does is tell the story of what is known about the Andrea Gail and add dramatic developments. Two of Tyne's fishing crew are at odds with each other for reasons I still don't quite understand, and Wahlberg is motivated by a need for cash to support his girlfriend's custody battle for her children. The personalities of the men play off each other, but when the storm hits and situation is grim, all that matters is the weary struggle to stay alive in impossible conditions.
In the midst of the storm we get visuals of remarkable impact; of powerful winds whipping mist across the whitecaps, tremendous swells and the tiny fishing vessel being tossed across them, and it all looked real enough to me. I believed it when Clooney climbed out on a wildly swaying beam to cut the chain tying the anchor that swung dangerously about in the gale, and the now-famous shot of the Gail climbing up the side of a monstrous wave, is very effective as well. The wave was created using computer generated images after researching extensively how ocean water behaves in such conditions, but I wasn't thinking that when I saw it.
Purists may find that the Gloucester in the movie contains only a handful of recognizable locations, and seems to sprawl more than at least I remember it, having spent some time there during college. What is believable is how the locals gather around the TV in the tavern to watch the weather reports; this is pretty much how I would imagine they would react. And I liked the little details the movie offers about how the swordfishing business works, and the remorse the boat's owner (Michael Ironside) displays when it appears to be lost.
The movie will not generate much suspense for New Englanders about the fate of the Andrea Gail, but it does do a convincing job of telling its story with grace and dignity for its crew. I was reminded of another weather-related special-effects movie, "Twister" which consisted of one convincing tornado after another with almost no substance in between. I felt more strongly about the characters in "Perfect Storm" and cared about what happened to them. In a way, that's a tribute in itself.