In the Heart of the Ocean – 6

Ersatz to the heart would be more like it, starting with Chris Hemsworth’s take on Matt Damon’s Boston accent, running through every painted backdrop and whale sighting and going ultimately to the movie’s core – the idea that Moby Dick emerged from Herman Melville’s late-night interview of the last survivor of the Essex. Once again, historical details – if that’s what they were – only added to the unbelievability of the tale: men surviving 68 days in a rowboat on the Pacific, returning months later to a deserted island to rescue more survivors, etc. Other plot aspects – the cartoonish conflict between our superstar first mate and the incompetent ship’s captain, the suits back on land who tried to spin the disaster, the love between our hero and the pregnant wife he left behind – never rose above cliche. And as for insight on whaling, the movie left me with more questions than answers.