The Perfect Storm (2000)

Before I begin I would just like to say a quick Welcome Back to all my fellow Film Club members, the Summer break went by Way too fast in my opinion, but hey what are you going to do but hope that the next holiday comes around Soon. Anyway I just wanted to take this small moment to say welcome back and I hope this term goes off without a hitch. So without further adieu, let us move on with the review. The film takes place in the year 1991, in the quiet fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts where our tale begins. The commercial sword-fishing vessel the Andrea Gail, sister ship to the Hannah Boden, returns to Gloucester with a small amount of catches, resulting in the Andrea Gail’s crew striking out. Desperate for money, the crew decides that the only option they have is to go out for one more late fishing trip before the end of the season to make up for the poor catches. Captain Billy Tyne, accompanied by Bobby Shatford, Dale Murphy, David Sullivan, Alfred Pierre and Michael Moran will set out to face the worst off what mother nature can throw at them in an attempt to bring home the turnaround of all time. However unbeknownst to the Andrea Gail’s salt blooded crew hurricane Grace, one of the most devastating hurricanes of all time, is making its way towards the east coast and soon, the Andrea Gail, her crew and countless others at sea will soon be in a fight for survival in the Perfect Storm. “The fog's just lifting. Throw off your bow line; throw off your stern. You head out to South channel, past Rocky Neck, Ten Pound Island. Past Niles Pond where I skated as a kid. Blow your air-horn and throw a wave to the lighthouse keeper's kid on Thatcher Island. Then the birds show up: black backs, herring gulls, big dumb ducks. The sun hits ya - head North. Open up to 12 - steamin' now. The guys are busy; you're in charge. Ya know what? You're a goddamn swordboat captain. Is there anything better in the world?” - Captain Billy Tyne After watching the film fully and gathering my own thoughts on the subject, I honestly can say that this film has become one of my favourite “Based on a true story” films of all time. I thought the plot for the film was eventful and captivating for me, keeping me and possibly other audiences transfixed to the screen in excitement and awe anticipating the next scenes. The characters were well defined and I think the film captured the unique personality’s each of these men had. I especially enjoyed Buggsy’s strange sense of humor. Furthermore, the effects used for the waves were unbelievable. The CGI animators truly captured the power and might that nature can throw at you when you do not heed her warnings. Now I would like to talk about the music. It’s not something that I usually try to talk about in one of my reviews but, today I feel I should break that mold for once. The Perfect Storm I believe both starts and ends with “Coming Home from the sea” and “The fog’s just lifting”. While I found it strange to begin with, I later realised why the directors may have done this. As each and everyone of us goes through life, we will see and experience a multitude of different things ranging from experiencing new emotions, too seeing knew sights and sounds to sadly experiencing the deaths of a loved one. By playing the same music from the beginning of the film in the end, it gives the feeling that despite this tragic event that has occured, life still goes on and that it may seem dark today but you can get back into the light. I believe that’s a good message. Despite the Perfect Storm being an incredible film however, there is one thing that has been nagging at me since I first started typing this review. Remember how I stated earlier on in the review that this film has become one of my favorite “Based on a true story” films of all time, that’s where my problem lies. Most, if not, all the scenes after the Andrea Gail leaves Gloucester for the last time are all purely fictional, apart from a view radio transmissions from the Andrea Gail to the the Hannah Boden. This isn’t really the films fault forsay as we will never truly know what happened that fateful night and the writers needed something to bulk up the rest of the film, otherwise the Perfect Storm would have been about have as long and less exciting. So for this reason, I am willing to ignore this fault. Overall I enjoyed the film for its ability to pro fock emotions unfelt before and I hope you do to. On one final note, may all those who lost their lives to the sea find eternal rest in fair weather and calm sea’s. And with that, i’m Alfie Harvey thank you for reading and I will be reviewing again very soon.