Written by Jonathan Klotz | Published
There’s no rhyme or reason to what has become a streaming hit, a recent box office bomb Horizon: An American Epic and Furiosa: The Mad Max Saga Finding success on Netflix is a logical, yet surprisingly, historical adventure In the heart of the seawhich flopped at the box office in 2015, joined them. The film, directed by Ron Howard, only grossed $25 million in theaters, but in this day and age, streaming success is even more important. With a cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, and Cillian Murphy, it’s no wonder curious subscribers have been watching the film.
Inspiration for Moby Dick
In the heart of the sea It tells the story of a whaling ship, Essexwas attacked by a large white whale and forced the crew to take cover in three small whaling boats. In the open ocean, the crew struggles to survive, battling the weather, the ocean, and each other. With Ron Howard behind the camera, the story is both wonderful and horrific, but even more dramatic because it’s based on a true story.
The Essex was an actual whaling ship that sank in 1820 and had only a few survivors, but two of them, the first mate, Chase Owens, and the cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, ended up writing about the incident when they returned home to Nantucket. In the heart of the sea is a dramatic retelling of their novels that adapts the nonfiction book of the same name by historian Nathaniel Philbrick. In case you’re curious, the whale that brought down the ship, described as a “great white whale,” helped inspire Herman Melville when he wrote Moby Dickwhich you probably never knew was partly based on a true story.
Saved from obscurity by Superstar Cast
It’s not fans of classic literature who paid In the heart of the sea towards the top of Netflix’s streaming chart, but instead, it was the growing star power of the three leads. Over the past decade since the film’s original release, Chris Hemsworth has become known as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Holland is Spider-Man, and Cillian Murphy has risen to stardom thanks Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer. In 2015, while Hemsworth had already played Thor AvengersIt was not a solo performance, and Holland got the role of Peter Parker in part because of his performance as Nickerson, the cabin boy.
Future stars did not take In the heart of the sea Easy too, partly due to the extreme physical demands of playing men stranded on the open ocean and partly due to Ron Howard’s decision to bring the storm to them. Instead of relying entirely on computer-generated imagery, Howard blasted the crew with cold water cannons on deck to convey the real feeling of being pummeled by the ocean’s fury. Hemsworth referred to the film as the most difficult and demanding performance of his career, but he was rewarded, with critics praising his performance upon release.
While critics enjoyed the film, it suffered from a poor release date, as it was clearly intended as counter-programming by Warner Bros., a studio that couldn’t seem to do anything right. in Heart of the seaan old-fashioned historical drama, premiered on December 11, 2015, one week before its release. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, One of the most successful films in human history. It turns out the film was simply ahead of its time, and the cast’s transformation into superstars has sparked interest in their previous work, and this high-seas survival adventure is a better choice than watching Black hat.
In the heart of the sea It’s now streaming on Netflix.