The Perfect Storm Sale
It's Halloween, 1991. Near Gloucester, Massachusetts, the six members of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat, head out to sea for their last trip of the season. Unbeknownst to them, a shockingly brutal storm is slowly gaining steam. Before the National Weather Bureau has a chance to inform the crew of the impending danger, it's too late. The resulting battle with three merging weather fronts--an unheralded natural disaster--is grueling and tragic. Based on the true-life best selling novel by Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane and is directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary with Wolfgang Peterson Commentary with S. Fangmeier and H. Elswit Commentary with Sebastian Junger
Documentary
Featurette:James Horner Featurette
Filmographies:HBO First Look Special (29:30)
Gag Reel
Other:"Whitness to the Storm" (4:30)
Photo gallery:"Yours Forever" Photo Montage
Production Sketches:Storyboard Art with W. Peterson Commentary
Storyboards
TV Special
Theatrical Trailer
Description
Setting out for the one last catch that will make up for a lackluster fishing season, Captain Billy Tyne (George Clooney) pushes his boat the Andrea Gail out to the waters of the Flemish Cap off Nova Scotia for what will be a huge swordfish haul. While his crew is gathering fish, three storm fronts (including a hurricane) collide to create a "perfect storm" of colossal force, and Billy's path back to Gloucester, Massachusetts, takes them right smack into the middle of it. Wolfgang Petersen's adaptation of Sebastian Junger's seafaring bestseller is a faithful if by-the-numbers true-story account of a monster storm that rocked New England in 1991, specifically Tyne's commercial fishing boat and its crew. Junger's tale fashioned a compelling if staid narrative out of seemingly disparate events, but this film adaptation tends to flatten out the story into a conventional if absorbing story of man vs. nature, as the crew fights for survival against the awesome waves the storm kicks up. The central part of the film, which cuts between the Andrea Gail's fight to stay afloat and the attempts of the Coast Guard to rescue a yacht in peril, is suspenseful action of the first degree, aided by some awesome computer-generated waves.
Still, it's a long way to that action, with an extended first act that consists mainly of stoic men, crying women, and a fair amount of "don't go out into the sea" dialogue--in other words, a compelling story has been shoehorned into standard summer movie fare. It's too bad, as Peterson assembled an excellent cast--including Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, John C. Reilly, and William Fichtner among them--but seems to opt for only a surface exploration of these characters, though Clooney seems to have a touch of Captain Ahab in him. You may still be won over by the movie, but for a more in-depth portrait, go to Junger's book for the missing details. --Mark Englehart
The Perfect Storm Customer Review
I am a pretty big fan of this film. I find it absorbing, moving and devastating (which are three things I look for in a film). The cast is stellar, the story is heartbreaking and the pacing is spot on. It is a film that slowly (yet engagingly) simmers until it boils over with a dynamic conclusion.
The film tells the true story of a group of sea-fishermen who got themselves caught in the middle of a `perfect storm' off the coast of Massachusetts. In 1991 the Andrea Gail set sail for, what promised to be, a successful `final attempt' at making up for a lackluster season. The captain, Billy Tyne, was a stubborn yet charming man who was not going to go out without a fight. Once out to sea, things looked great. When three large storms collided in their path though, everything went sour.
Despite the fact that we know how this ends (if you don't then I'll try and keep that a `secret'), the film remains intense and dramatic, and the ending is very much a climactic conclusion despite our foreknowledge. That is really the best part of this film, the pacing and direction. I totally understand the points made about the `generic' quality to the plot. This is very much a true story in that `by the numbers' sense. There is not a lot of character development or depth. The men that we meet aboard the Andrea Gail are no different than the men we meet in other `natural disaster' type biopics. So, I do wish that they had spent a little more time fleshing out their personas. We do get a little peek into their home life during the films opening sequences, as they say goodbye to friends and family before setting sail, but that small glimpse isn't really enough to constitute depth.
That aside, the acting here is very good. Despite not having much depth of character, the cast (which includes George Clooney, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane, Mark Wahlberg and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) add layers of realism to their characters. You feel for them, you cry for them, you root for them. I wish that the script had fleshed them out a little more, but they work magic with what they are given.
I also wanted to mention that I found the whole yacht rescue plot line to be distracting and pointless and the films one major low point.
But, the real star of the show is Wolfgang Peterson. Peterson works wonders in the water (even though his 2006 attempt at Poseidon was near dreadful in scope, it looked great). Dating as far back as 1981 (where he should have raked in awards for his brilliant direction of `Das Boot'), Peterson has proven that small, cramped spaces surrounded by watery depths are his forte. This is no exception. You can feel each creek and movement and sloshing of the water against the side of his man-made prison. It's not his strongest moment, and it doesn't quite reach Weirs transcendent direction of `03's masterpiece `Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World', but what Peterson does here should not go unmentioned. He transports you to the middle of the ocean and delivers that feeling of isolated fear, all the while surrounding you with the warm comfort of comradeship.
Like I said, I love this film. It has its faults, and it surely could have been better, but for what this film sets out to do (which is entertain), it does so gloriously. I have not read the book, although I hear that it is stellar (and better than the film), so I may look into it someday.
Until then, I will gladly watch this film again and again.
★★★ Read More Reviews ★★★
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