Nature can wield some of the most destructive power imaginable if conditions allow for it. In the fall of 1991, three storms collided in the Atlantic Ocean to produce the “perfect storm” in this film’s title. One fishing boat, the Andrea Gail, helmed by Billy Tyne (George Clooney) was unfortunately caught right in the middle of it.
The film is based on Sebastian Junger’s book of the same name. While the book dealt with the the storm and the Andrea Gail’s fate by using interviews with those who knew the crew, weather reports, and other factual information, the movie, for dramatic purposes, has to fictionalize the events onboard the boat. This makes the film a drama first and an accurate account of the events second. Still, The Perfect Storm packs a mighty wallop and serves as both an interesting account of a massive storm and a tribute to the hard work of the men and women of the fishing industry.
The characters of the film aren’t exactly what you’d describe as exciting or particularly original. They’re based on the people that faced the storm head-on and, as one would expect, the lives of sword-fishermen aren’t particularly glamorous. Billy Tyne’s boss, Bob Brown (Michael Ironside), is disappointed with the performance of the captain’s most recent fishing outing. This forces Tyne to make one last run into dangerous weather conditions that he wouldn’t otherwise make. The film details why this last run is important to not only Billy, but the rest of his crew.
Bobby Shatford (Mark Wahlberg) is trying to put a mountain of debt behind him and move on with his new girlfriend (Diane Lane). Murph (John C. Reilly) has recently divorced his wife and needs to support his son. Tyne becomes shorthanded when a crew member leaves for a safer job in Florida, so Sully (William Fichtner) joins the crew and, for some reason, doesn’t like Murph at all. It’s the usual Hollywood amalgamation of crewmen. There’s just one catch: They’re based on real people.
While the book didn’t dwell exclusively on the Andrea Gail, the movie has to have a more focused approach. Some of the other events in the book are combined with the story of the Andrea Gail or in other ways made to relate to it in ways that differ from the real events. If you’ve read the book, you’ll recognize the out-of-place events. If you haven’t, they don’t really affect much in terms of the story. Just realize that not everything that appears on the screen is actually what happened in 1991.
The movie sports some absolutely incredible computer-generated storm effects. Any movie that depicts the ferocity of a storm in this fashion wouldn’t be possible without them. When the rogue waves begin pounding the Andrea Gail, you’ll be hard-pressed not to flinch at the power behind them.
The Perfect Storm does have its flaws, most of them based in the fictionalization of the account of the Andrea Gail. Some of the dialogue between the crew-members is fraught with clichés. Did there really need to be a conflict between Sully and Murph? Does a scene depicting the crew laying down the first run of fishing hooks really need to be accompanied by a ZZ Top song ala any male-bonding movie made in the last decade? In and of themselves, these flaws are trivial, but they add up and make the movie seem as though it might even take the liberty of changing the outcome of the story.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Buy on Amazon!
