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Trust Weighted
Good
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5Trust Points
BigdaddyDave's Review
Summary - Good 3.0
Jeff “The Dude” Daniels takes us sailing in this highly fictionalized film about the true sinking of the sailing ship Albatross in 1961. Daniels plays Captain Christopher Sheldon, who not only is the skipper of the ill-fated boat, but also runs a maritime school aboard it for 13 teenage boys. Assisted by his wife (Caroline Goodall) who serves as the ship’s doctor, a cook, and a literature teacher, the boat sails the Caribbean seas, while teaching the boys teamwork, responsibility, and discipline. Sadly, they encounter a freak storm, known as a White Squall, which capsizes and sinks the boat.
The movie is beautifully filmed, with captivating action scenes on the boat, offset by various excursions to ports of call. Through it all, the boys are taught lessons about overcoming fear and responsibility. The crescendo of the film is the storm, which was captured in all its intensity, generating the panic and desperation that the young men must have felt.
The film suffers in the end, because of its ending. The heavy handed and sappy ending detracted form a story that was strong enough to stand on its own. What had been an artfully crafted film, quickly degenerated into a needless melodramatic pile of mush. Quite a shame.
The film took many dramatic liberties with the telling of the story. Many of them were necessary to keep our interest. Nevertheless, the utilization of those liberties shouldn’t be at the expense of a wonderful story that was fully capable of succeeding on its own. Sadly, it has kept me from grading higher than a "Good.â€
Watched on Netflix streaming.
Acting - Good 3.0
Male Stars - Great 4.0
Jeff Daniels is solid in his role as the stern Captain.Female Stars - Good 3.0
Caroline Goodall is good in her role as the wife and ship doctor. I would have liked to have seen her role expanded a bit more, to truly help tell the story.Female Costars - OK 2.5
Male Costars - OK 2.5
A slew of young male actors appear in the film, and they each did an adequate job, although none of them really stood out. Perhaps it was the matching crewcut haircuts, and relatively identical clothing.Film - Very Good 3.5
Nicely filmed, especially the storm scene.
Direction - Very Good 3.5
Masterful job of recreating a terrible storm and sinking without relying on too many special effects. Very nice camera work during these sequences.Dialogue - Very Good 3.5
The movie stumbles in spots with pacing, especially during some of the port scenes, but generally stays on track.Music - Very Good 3.5
Visuals - Very Good 3.5
Edge - Risqué 1.8
Sex Titillating 1.7
Violence Fierce 2.3
Rudeness Polite 1.5
Reality - Glib 1.4
Based on a true story, but given plenty of creative injections.