.@melissa_keir: The Heart of the Sea is a Sweeping Epic

​After over 90 days stranded at sea, even Thor ends up looking like a stick man. I’m giving The Heart of the Sea a B+.

​This tale is woven between the true story of a Nantucket ship’s experience with a gigantic white whale which brings about the destruction of the ship, Essex and the death of most of its crew and the search by Herman Melville’s, author of Moby Dick, search for the truth.

​Directed by Ron Howard, this movie is full of details and accuracy about the whaling men of early America who sought to make their riches off the blubber of whales. These men went out on small boats armed with a harpoon to take down a mighty whale in order to keep the towns lit and safe. Whale oil was a cleaner way of lighting (prior to electricity) and a single whale could bring in 40-60 barrels of oil.

​But The Heart of the Sea is also about relationships…Captain Pollard is green, having never captained a ship and strives to live up to his famous name. Owen Chase, played by Chris Hemsworth, is from a land family so he has to work twice as hard to prove himself. The class difference between the two men as well as their own need to be the boss, causes conflict which sets in motion the destruction of the Essex.

​Even with the amazing acting and action, this movie falls a little flat. Fans of sweeping epics will love this movie but if you are looking for non-stop action, this movie had moments but a lot of the time is spent on lifeboats, starving and slowly dying.