I have always been able to lose myself in the film I am watching. I drove up the long Texas driveway with Elizabeth Taylor in Giant, flew over the desert with the English Patient, stood with Lawrence on the sand dune as he twirled in his new costume....but never have I felt such a part of a place as I did last night sitting in a theater while the ship and crew of the Surprise welcomed me into their world, thanks to the genius of Peter Weir and his crew.
It was like a magic door opening, and then, on the other side, standing in the small, fragile, impossibly crowded little ship along with Killick and Captain Howard and Nagle - with William Warley and Faster Doudle, with the midshipmen, the officers - sharing their discomfort and pride, their suffering and exhilaration - as they follow their Captain to the far ends of the earth.
The first thing you hear when the theater lights lower is the wind and the creaking of the wood, and the ropes chaffing one another.. It is silent as the camera carries you onto the deck of the ship just before the change of watch. Two officers watch the fog through spy glasses - and see something there. There is a call to arms, and you go below again where all you can see though the muted lamp light are silent rows and rows of gray drooping cocoon-like figures swaying back and forth. Then one after another the men crawl from those cocoons - their hammocks - and go up to the deck to begin their "Day." The camera pans past them, through midshipmen and marines getting ready for duty, till it stops at gnarled hands tightening a belt, pulling on a shirt -and there at last stands the captain - Jack Aubrey of the the HMS Surprise.
This is not a blockbuster film, despite the rousing bookend battles that enclose the plot. It is a thoughtful study of a ship of the British line, and of the men who live in it. Everyday ship happenings - the times of sadness and horror, the humor, the character of the men - captain and crew - are the true soul of Master and Commander. We grow to know all of them, even the lowliest powder monkey, and we become part of their lives.
Most memorable to me were Max Pirkis as Midshipman Blakeney - eight years old, an innocent, but full of courage and grit and intelligence. Someday you just know he will be a fine ship captain too; Lee Inglebey as Midshipman Hollum, a man who was not made for the sea; Robert Pugh as sailing master, Master Allen, gruff, with a laugh to fill a room, and more knowledge of sails and ships than anyone else on board - except for Jack Aubrey; Paul Bettany as Steven Maturin, friend, fellow musician, brilliant scientist and doctor. His face in the scene where he operates on himself, mirroring what his body was feeling, was acting of the finest.
Finally, the soul of the ship and the movie, Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey. A bluff man, a canny leader, caring yet tough, courageous, reckless at times, always loving the Surprise (there is one scene where he defends it from the charge of being old, talking as he rubs his hands over the wood of a shattered doorway, that tells it all). Once again Crowe turns what could have been a stock, seafaring character into a man of great depth and feeling. The anguish in his face during a violent storm, when he must choose between man and ship, brought tears to my eyes. At the end, his quiet Our Father takes those who have died in battle to their home in the sea. He makes you see how he - and you - will miss and remember all those who fell to defend their little part of England - off on the far side of the world.
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In retrospect, I wish I had not seen all the trailers and shows about the movie. There are scenes that were very familiar already. One should come to this film, as my daughter did, unsuspecting of what will be seen. She loved it. And I did too, even if my enjoyment was partly that of seeing an old friend (the film) made whole at last.
It was like a magic door opening, and then, on the other side, standing in the small, fragile, impossibly crowded little ship along with Killick and Captain Howard and Nagle - with William Warley and Faster Doudle, with the midshipmen, the officers - sharing their discomfort and pride, their suffering and exhilaration - as they follow their Captain to the far ends of the earth.
The first thing you hear when the theater lights lower is the wind and the creaking of the wood, and the ropes chaffing one another.. It is silent as the camera carries you onto the deck of the ship just before the change of watch. Two officers watch the fog through spy glasses - and see something there. There is a call to arms, and you go below again where all you can see though the muted lamp light are silent rows and rows of gray drooping cocoon-like figures swaying back and forth. Then one after another the men crawl from those cocoons - their hammocks - and go up to the deck to begin their "Day." The camera pans past them, through midshipmen and marines getting ready for duty, till it stops at gnarled hands tightening a belt, pulling on a shirt -and there at last stands the captain - Jack Aubrey of the the HMS Surprise.
This is not a blockbuster film, despite the rousing bookend battles that enclose the plot. It is a thoughtful study of a ship of the British line, and of the men who live in it. Everyday ship happenings - the times of sadness and horror, the humor, the character of the men - captain and crew - are the true soul of Master and Commander. We grow to know all of them, even the lowliest powder monkey, and we become part of their lives.
Most memorable to me were Max Pirkis as Midshipman Blakeney - eight years old, an innocent, but full of courage and grit and intelligence. Someday you just know he will be a fine ship captain too; Lee Inglebey as Midshipman Hollum, a man who was not made for the sea; Robert Pugh as sailing master, Master Allen, gruff, with a laugh to fill a room, and more knowledge of sails and ships than anyone else on board - except for Jack Aubrey; Paul Bettany as Steven Maturin, friend, fellow musician, brilliant scientist and doctor. His face in the scene where he operates on himself, mirroring what his body was feeling, was acting of the finest.
Finally, the soul of the ship and the movie, Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey. A bluff man, a canny leader, caring yet tough, courageous, reckless at times, always loving the Surprise (there is one scene where he defends it from the charge of being old, talking as he rubs his hands over the wood of a shattered doorway, that tells it all). Once again Crowe turns what could have been a stock, seafaring character into a man of great depth and feeling. The anguish in his face during a violent storm, when he must choose between man and ship, brought tears to my eyes. At the end, his quiet Our Father takes those who have died in battle to their home in the sea. He makes you see how he - and you - will miss and remember all those who fell to defend their little part of England - off on the far side of the world.
*************************
In retrospect, I wish I had not seen all the trailers and shows about the movie. There are scenes that were very familiar already. One should come to this film, as my daughter did, unsuspecting of what will be seen. She loved it. And I did too, even if my enjoyment was partly that of seeing an old friend (the film) made whole at last.
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