The Perfect Storm


United States, 2000
UK Release Date: August 2000 (wide)
Running Length: 2:08
BBFC Classification: 15 (Swearing)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Cast: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, William Fichtner, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, John C Reilly, Allen Payne, John Hawkes, Michael Ironside
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Producers: Gail Katz, Wolfgang Petersen, Paula Weinstein
Screenplay: Bill Wittliff, based on the novel by Sebastian Junger
Cinematography: John Seale
Music: James Horner
UK Distributor: Warner Brothers

After the lamentable Die Hard clone Air Force One, German director Wolfgang Petersen has made a fine return to form with this fact-based thriller.

The man behind classics such as Das Boot and In the Line of Fire has found his feet again and his casting choices are as good as ever.

George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg are back together a few months after making the impressive Three Kings and here they give fine performances as the impoverished fisherman who go farther than they should to, er, bring home the bacon, and in so doing head into the storm of the century.

Weather boffins called it "The Perfect Storm" - the sort of event that can only occur under very rare circumstances. In this case, it took the collission of an eastward-moving cold front, a low pressure system off Sable Island, and a hurricane headed out to sea to create a monster.

Three years ago, Sebastian Junger published the book which inspired the movie, a thriller which went to number one in the best-seller charts and left Hollywood moneymen falling over themselves to turn it into big screen magic.

It centres on the six-man crew of the swordfishing craft Andrea Gail- captain Billy Tyne (Clooney). Bobby Shatford (Wahlberg), Dale Murphy (Magnolia's John C Reilly), David Sullivan (Go's William Fichtner), Bugsy Moran (John Hawkes) and Alfred Pierre (Allen Payne). As the movie opens, they have returned home with a dire haul, so Tyne decides to take the ship out one more time, far beyond the usual fishing grounds, the Grand Banks, to the Flemish Cap, an almost fabled place off most North American fishing charts. Many of the crew are not happy but cash has a funny habit of changing peoples' minds. Inevitably, they catch their fair share of fish but with the eponymous squall brewing, this is a disaster just waiting to happen.

Their journey is intercut with that of a Coast Guard rescue helicopter, sent to save the crew of the sailboat Mistral. Meanwhile, with waves topping 100 feet, you wonder how the brave crew are going to survive such horrific weather.

If you've not read the book then I won't spoil the ending. Suffice to say, this is not the formulaic thriller you might expect. The movie does go down a certain, well-worn road and cliches are rife - as with any character awaking from a nightmare, (in this case Wahlberg's on-screen lover, Diane Lane), she sits bolt upright.

Why don't people just open their eyes and go back to sleep?

As with Jaws, the radio has to be wrecked at some point and you aren't too shocked when it does happen.

There's also a headstrong captain (in the form of Clooney) and an official (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who tries to talk him out of a suicidal course of action.

However, Petersen manages to avoid many of the yawnsome cliches and delivers one of the year's most exciting and intelligent offerings.

Full marks to the technicians at Warner Bros who built a full-sized version of the Andrea Gail, plonked it on a pivot in a studio soundstage and then had a wave machine create part of the storm effects. Along with many an animatronic fish and some excellent touches from ILM (the computer generated waves match the real waves almost seamlessly), you are almost under the illusion that you are there in the eye of the storm.

The perfect movie? No, not quite but a very good one all the same.


© 2000 Roger Crow


Three Kings

TM and © 2000 Roger Crow and its related entities. All rights reserved.
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