Great movie. I definitely recommend it.
!Based upon a true story
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Storyline
Elderly Tom Nickerson recalls how, in 1819, he went to sea as cabin boy on the whaler ‘The Essex’, leaving Nantucket. Its recently promoted captain George Pollard is a kindly man, unlike first mate Owen Chase and Tom notes their mutual animosity though, inspired by tales from his grandfather, envisages life at sea as romantic. A storm and a food shortage puncture his illusions but spirits are raised when a whale is sighted and caught. However some two months later another whale attacks and sinks the ship – in what Tom believes to be an act of revenge – and the crew take to the long-boats. Chase overrules Pollard in deciding that, rather than risk cannibals on the nearby Society Islands, they make the gruelling 2,000 mile journey to Peru. Ninety days later only five of the crew are rescued, the others either dead or never found. An end-title relates what happened to Tom, Pollard and Chase in later life. (imdb)
Detailed Synopsis
“The story of the Essex is one of those examples of fact being stranger than fiction. Commanded in 1819-1820 by the young and newly promoted Captain George Pollard Jr, the ship was notoriously attacked and sunk by a gigantic sperm whale in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, forcing the sailors to board the small whalers and survive upon the vast expanse of sea for several months. A tale of ill luck, personality clashes, man .vs. nature and survival by cannibalism, it inspired the first mate (and one of the few participants to emerge from the experience alive) to write a book entitled ‘Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex’, which in turn inspired a certain chap named Herman Melville to write his enduring classic Moby Dick.
In 1819, the whale-ship Essex leaves Nantucket under the command of newly promoted captain George Pollard Jr (Adam Rayner). The youngest member of the crew is 14 year old Tom Nickerson (Charles Furness), attempting to find his way in life by pursuing a career on the high seas. The first mate is Owen Chase (Jonas Armstrong), who has sailed with Pollard before in a different capacity, but finds his captain indecisive and ill-judged over many matters. The journey starts badly, with the ship failing to find whales; food and water being strictly rationed; and grumblings of mutiny making themselves heard among the crew. They head out into the central Pacific to improve their luck, and things seem to be working out when they immediately come across whales. However, a sperm whale rams the ship after its mate is killed by the sailors; the ship sinks and the survivors are forced to board their tiny whaleboats to stay alive. They drift upon the sea for many weeks, finding land in the shape of the uninhabitable Henderson Island. When it becomes apparent the island cannot support life, they have to once more put to sea to stay alive. Ultimately, they have to resort to cannibalism when their scarce food supplies run out altogether. Only a handful of the original survivors make it to safety after several months of desperate suffering and hardship.
As true stories go, this one is as remarkable as it is grim. The performances are pretty good, and the details of life at sea seem to be captured with a solid level of authenticity. The personality clashes among the crew – especially the stormy relationship between Captain Pollard and his First Mate, Owen Chase – are nicely delineated. Since the film is called The Whale, one would expect the whale itself to be more integral to the story… a better title may have been The Essex or The Whale-Ship. Yes, the whale is responsible for the sinking of the ship, and yes, it ominously follows the sailors throughout their ordeal, but overall the film focuses much more on the survival of the sailors, and the extremes to which they go to stay alive. The whale itself has little direct bearing upon the narrative. The latter part of the film, detailing the sailors’ extraordinary adventures aboard their little whalers once their ship has gone down, is exceptionally well done – harrowing, terrifying and utterly convincing. The film doesn’t really dwell too long on the moral complexities of turning to cannibalism to stay alive, nor does it explore the effect of this extreme course of action on the characters. It’s presented more as a straightforward account, tastefully done in the parts where it could have been quite sensationalised and gruesome, and overall a very respectable little TV movie which is well worth a look.” (imdb)
“Watching a bunch of 19th-century sailors get tossed this way and that by an angry ocean and an even angrier whale certainly put things into perspective. And it didn’t get any better when the seas had calmed and the not-so-jolly jack tars found themselves shipwrecked. A nasty case of chapped lips was just the start of a voyage through paranoid delusions, sacrificial suicides and an unexpected twist on shipboard cuisine.
Surely, when the inevitable ‘it’s turn cannibal or die’ moment arrived, I can’t have been the only one contemplating a return to vegetarian roots.
Based on a true story, The Whale was a simple tale, well told. The ill-fated whaling ship The Essex set off from Nantucket in 1819 with a fair wind in its sails, only to be buffeted and then some by cruel fate. As the stories of the crew emerged in the briny air, we were left placing bets on who would survive to the end credits.
Young cabin boy Tom was a given – Martin Sheen was narrating the tale as his older self. But as for the rest, it was a nail-biter. Would decent but weak Captain Pollard go under, scuppered by indecision and the challenge of first mate Owen Chase? Ship’s cook Mr Bond, sailing away from a broken past, was another intriguing character.
Adam Rayner, Jonas Armstrong and John Boyega put in strong performances as this trio but there was a surprise scene-stealer. Once you got over the fear that Paul Kaye was going to break out into one of his ‘Victor’ ad routines, he turned in a touching performance as the scrimshaw-carving Matthew Joy, a contrary devil who surprisingly emerged as arguably the noblest soul on board.
The whale of the title, in truth, didn’t get that much of a look-in. This was a tale of human survival built on the fraying but unbreakable bonds of comradeship.” (metro.co.uk)
Matchless God 