The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea.--Isak Dinesen
Sweat, tears and the sea are three things the fishermen of Gloucester and their families know well. In 1991 three hurricane force storm fronts collided with each other off the east coast resulting in what has been described as the Storm of the Century. The Andrea Gail, a Gloucester swordfishing boat, was returning home from a successful fishing expedition when it found itself caught directly in the middle of The Perfect Storm. Based on the novel by Sebastian Junger this is the true story of what happened to the Andrea Gail, her crew, and some of the other ships and rescue vessels that found themselves caught in the sort of nightmare that occurs when Mother Nature goes mad.
In many ways while watching The Perfect Storm I almost felt I was watching a horror movie instead of a drama as the ocean turned from a force of nature into a monster determined to destroy, without mercy, anything within her reach. The Captain of the Andrea Gail seems to share this sentiment at one point in the film when escape is suddenly snatched from his ship and he says despairingly, “She’s not going to let us out.” From Godzilla to Freddy Kruger, no horror monster every conceived could ever match the frightening destructive power of the ocean in full rage and The Perfect Storm catches the power of that rage perfectly. The special effects and stunt work involved in showing the plight of the men and women whose vessels were caught in this storm were absolutely stunning. George Clooney gives what is probably the best performance of his career in this film as Billy Tyne, the Captain of the doomed Andrea Gail. To make things even better Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, who worked so well together in Three Kings, work equally well together here. The supporting cast is good, effective and powerful in a low-keyed way and I especially enjoyed seeing Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio playing Captain Linda Greenlaw. Capt. Greenlaw was the commander of the Andrea Gail’s sister ship, the Hannah Boden, and is also the author of the best-selling bookThe Hungry Ocean. which details the life and love of the sea of a swordfish boat Captain.
In fact, The Perfect Storm’s only real failing is that not enough time is spent in trying to give the audience a better feel for how much the men who crewed the Andrea Gail loved the sea and loved the job of swordfishing. Seeing the low pay, the hardship and the frustration of swordfishing without seeing enough of the joy they found in their work almost certainly left much of the audience wondering why these men would want to do this for a living to begin with. More time spent showing the crew of the Andrea Gail’s love of the sea during the start of the film would have given it a more upbeat and ultimately more interesting atmosphere. Another unavoidable drawback to The Perfect Storm is that given the subject matter its ending could only be depressing and several people in the audience with me were crying softly by the movie’s end.
I do recommend The Perfect Storm though. It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it is a very good, if not very cheerful, piece of work.
Average Grade: A
