United States, 1996
Running Length: 2:08
BBFC Classification: 15 (Swearing violence)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall, John Savage, Scott Wolf, Jeremy Sisto, Balthazar Getty, Ryan Phillipe, Jason Marsden
Director: Ridley Scott
Producers: Mimi Polk Gitlin and Rocky Lang
Screenplay: Todd Robinson based on the memoirs of Chuck Gieg
Cinematography: Hugh Johnson
Music: Jeff Rona with contributions by Hans Zimmer
UK Distributor: Hollywood Pictures
As with Black Rain, the other colour-related movie from Ridley Scott, White Squall, is a good looking thriller that fails to engage.
If you like male bonding, high seas adventure, and rites of passage stories, then this is right up your street. The story is compelling enough and the cast are very good but compared to the likes of classic Scott movies, Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise and Gladiator, this sinks without a trace.
Inspired by the true-life memoirs of Chuck Gieg, the movie focuses on 13 high school students who have opted to spend the 1960-61 academic year on the American schoolship Albatross. (Nice to go to a school with access to those sorts of funds.)
The Captain is Christopher Sheldon (the always watchable Jeff Bridges), his wife, Alice (Caroline Goodall of Hook and Schindler's List fame), is the ship's doctor and the boys' science teacher. Other grown ups aboard are a Bard-quoting English teacher (John Savage) and a Cuban cook (Julio Mechoso).
The crew includes Chuck (Party of Five veteran Scott Wolf), a student who wants to break away from his parents' vision of what his future should be; Tod (Balthazar Getty), a tough kid who hides a secret; Frank (Jeremy Sisto), trapped under his rich father's thumb; and Gill (Cruel Intentions' Ryan Phillipe), a young man with a fear of heights. The trip on the Albatross is naturally character forming. By the end of the movie, they go through more than just a sailing trip
For those that were wondering, a "white squall" is a sudden, violent, wind-and-lightning storm that can take the most invincible ship and snap it in two. However, this meteorological catastrophe doesn't make an appearance until the film's last act. Until then, the movie devotes itself to developing its young characters, their growing admiration for their skipper, and the relationships amongst them. While some of this drama relies on familiar formulas, a capable director like Scott can maintain the audience's attention through a long setup.
As you might expect from RS, the movie looks great and With the cinematographer Hugh Johnson helps turn the picture into a good looking thriller, if not the most memorable of Ridley's cache.
