Master And Commander
Nov. 14th, 2003 06:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsOmaha, her friend Sean, and I headed out this afternoon to go and see Master and Commander, the Patrick O'Brian-based tale of Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Steven Maturin on the H.M.S. Surprise hunting down the new French frigate, Acheron. The title is a combination of two of O'Brian's titles, and scenes from the movie are taken out of three or four other books in the series.
As historicals about "the golden age of sail" go, Master and Commander is amazing. It tries in 2 hours 20 minutes to tell too much of a story, and any sub-plots that might have existed in the original draft long ago disappeared in the bulk of this magnificent seafaring hunt. But the visuals are astounding if, at times, a bit squeamish-- the film pulls no punches in just how ugly warfare was back then, nor does it shy away from the fact that boys as young as twelve and thirteen often crewed these ships, both as enlisted men and as officers. For battle, the sound staging is simply overwhelming, especially if your local theatre is one of those that cranks the audio up way too high.
And, a first for Crowe as far as I can tell, his chemistry with relative unknown Paul Bettany actually works, and he pulls off the vulnerability and absolute power of a single man on a cramped vessel quite well. Usually Crowe plays a man so independent that he stands apart from the rest of the film, but this time he actually plays second fiddle (in one sense, literally) to a much quieter and more reserved character.
If you want to spend two hours completely surrounded by the cramped, tight corners of 19th century sailing, alone in a vast and uncaring sea, Master and Commander is a great visual addition to the Aubrey/Maturin series. But if you really want to know what's going on in the background, you'll have to read the books. But go see Master and Commander. It's a great movie.
As historicals about "the golden age of sail" go, Master and Commander is amazing. It tries in 2 hours 20 minutes to tell too much of a story, and any sub-plots that might have existed in the original draft long ago disappeared in the bulk of this magnificent seafaring hunt. But the visuals are astounding if, at times, a bit squeamish-- the film pulls no punches in just how ugly warfare was back then, nor does it shy away from the fact that boys as young as twelve and thirteen often crewed these ships, both as enlisted men and as officers. For battle, the sound staging is simply overwhelming, especially if your local theatre is one of those that cranks the audio up way too high.
And, a first for Crowe as far as I can tell, his chemistry with relative unknown Paul Bettany actually works, and he pulls off the vulnerability and absolute power of a single man on a cramped vessel quite well. Usually Crowe plays a man so independent that he stands apart from the rest of the film, but this time he actually plays second fiddle (in one sense, literally) to a much quieter and more reserved character.
If you want to spend two hours completely surrounded by the cramped, tight corners of 19th century sailing, alone in a vast and uncaring sea, Master and Commander is a great visual addition to the Aubrey/Maturin series. But if you really want to know what's going on in the background, you'll have to read the books. But go see Master and Commander. It's a great movie.
