On Halloween in 1991, three furious weather fronts met over the Atlantic Ocean. United, they formed what seafaring locals would come to call "The Halloween Storm". To the U.S. National Weather Bureau and Environment Canada, this "perfect storm" would be the most powerful and volatile tempest in modern history. A major low front over Nova Scotia encountered a dissipating Hurricane Grace and another low pressure system creating a storm that lasted for four straight days causing widespread destruction along the east coast of North America from Florida all the way to Newfoundland.
Beaches were pummeled. Docks and wharves, leveled. Seaside towns felt the storm's sting. Roads flooded. Homes and business were battered. Unaware of what was happening around them, the crew of the Andrea Gail - a New England swordfishing boat - found themselves in the storm's clutches battling waves over one hundred feet high.
A Perfect Storm, is their heroic story.
The film is based on the best-selling 1998 book by Sebastian Junger, a freelance journalist who recreated the courageous struggle of the Andrea Gail and introduced many to the fascinating lifestyle lead by the seafaring folk of Gloucester, Massachusetts, who rely on the fishing industry for their livelihood.
Bill Whittliff's screenplay centers on the captain of the Andrea Gail, Billy Tyne (George Clooney), and the crewman he's closest to, Bobby Shatford (Mark Wahlberg). Though he is still inexperienced, Tyne sees Shatford as a natural so he takes on the role of his mentor. Tyne, himself, has had a run of very bad luck lately returning from his expeditions with barely enough catch to pay his men. The bossman ain't smiling.
Unintentionally putting the boots to Tyne's ego is rival captain Linda Greenlaw (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Compared to her plentiful hauls, Tyne's are an embarrassment. Determined to beat her or die trying, Tyne assembles a crew for one final trip of the season. Against the wishes of his girlfriend (Diane Lane), Shatford signs on for what he promises will be his last fishing expedition. Shatford seizes the opportunity to make enough to pay off that nagging divorce lawyer that's hounding him and maybe still have some dough left over for their new life together.
Rounding out the crew are colourful characters in Dale "Murph" Murphy (John C. Reilly), Alfred Pierre (Allen Payne), Bugsy (John Hawkes) and Sully (William Fichtner).
Obsessed with redeeming himself, Tyne convinces his men to sail beyond their regular fishing territory to the fabled Felmish Cap, where he believes there's enough swordfish to offset his poor performance all season. The National Weather Bureau issues a warning about the perilous disturbance that's forming. The fishermen don't realize the danger they are in until The Halloween Storm is bearing down upon them with all of its lethal force.
Three Kings cohorts George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg work their magic again in The Perfect Storm. The Clooney-playing-big brother-to-Wahlberg device comes off as genuine and as well it should. The two are pals off the camera and the mutual admiration shows through solidifying their chemistry together. We're pulling for these guys to get home safe and their familiar kinship has everything to do with that.
Once perceived as a boob tube pretty boy, Clooney continues his wise choice of feature film roles which have established him as a credible leading man. Maybe he could share some of his wisdom with one David Caruso, the cast of Saturday Night Live or his castmate, Diane Lane. Lane is so inconsistent as Wahlberg's love interest that her overacting spoils key moments. Maybe it was the sappy dialogue. Maybe Lane is too strong an individual to play such a vulnerable person. Whatever the case, she's the movie's weak link.
Director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Airforce One) has remained true to Junger's descriptions in his book by shooting the film in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and giving us a peek into the rich personalities and ambiance of the renown fishing port and home to the Andrea Gail. With its stately lighthouse, wind-whipped shores and picturesque coastline distinctively captured by Academy Award-winning cinematographer John Seale (The English Patient), it would be no surprise if Gloucester's tourism industry experiences an unexpected boom.
Everything that transpires in The Perfect Storm rides on the depiction of the storm itself. Afterall, it's the real star of the picture. Petersen understood that no diminutive air jets in a wave pool buffeting small-scale models to and fro were going to get the job done. He had to impress upon us how truly humbling this storm was. Stefen Fangmeier's team at Industrial Light And Magic and marine coordinator Doug Merrifield and his squad did just that. The sights and sounds of The Halloween Storm are staggering. It is fearsome. It is awesome. It's as scary as hell.
Before they ship out, Petersen has us spending lots of time with the crew as they party-hardy, confront their estranged wives, play with their children and discuss their trials and tribulations. The connection is there. We care about these big, hook-swinging, thoughtful, daring lugs who despite their differences, must work as a team. They have no choice. Their jobs and even their lives depend on it.
We admire the everyday heroes in The Perfect Storm. They are good, hard-working men. We invest ourselves emotionally and Petersen shrewdly cashes in on that when the going gets tough. The war of survival they waged honours how mighty the human spirit can be when faced with insurmountable odds. Us landlubbers, leave with not only a greater appreciation for what they went through but also a better understanding of what it's like to call the sea and oceans your home.
The Powell Factor
The kicking storm x one fishing hook through the hand x one Coast Guard rescue x Clooney for saying: "The next time I fish the Grand Banks, they won't be so grand any more." x swordfish get hooked but good - Diane Lane + Chris McDonald for saying: "It would be a disaster of the greatest proportions. It would be the perfect storm." - some over-the-top moments = a fitting tribute.
(This film is rated PG)
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