First (local Boston) review of Master and Commander

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Master and Commander
The Far Side of the World Written and Directed by Peter Weir Based on the novel by Patrick O'Brian Featuring Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
by Matthew Christian

Master and Commander might have been another star-driven costume drama timed to be an Oscar contender. The smell of Hollywood tripe was in the air. Early trailers that wouldn't admit to a plot. A duplex title. Opening credits that state the time, place and context for the historically ignorant. Effects-heavy nautical battles. Running time over two hours. Russell Crowe in tight breeches and a ponytail. Yet it all turned out to be absolutely gripping.
Crowe, as Captain Jack Aubry of the HMS Surprise, must pursue and hopefully capture an elusive and sturdy French privateer that's causing her majesty problems near Brazil. It could have been an excuse for endless cannon battles, but it unfoldes as a strategy-driven adventure, with more genuine drama and human conflict than gunpowder.
The attention to detail is amazing. Cannon fire rips through timbers and flesh, spraying splinters and blood. Ocean storms and swells are Discovery Channel credible rather than "Perfect Storm" outrageous. [Emphasis added.] Food has mealworms. Spyglass lenses have realistic distortions. There is a disturbing - and historically accurate - amputation scene with neither a drop of blood nor a blade touching a body, yet it is certain to induce squirming. This obsessive attention to detail makes the characters' world tangible and visceral.
What really pulls the movie together is that it taps Crowe for his star power but plays as an ensemble piece.
Unless you're familiar with the Napoleonic Wars and their threat to the British Empire, it's not clear why the sailors would endure such squalor and face such harm. Their ship is a metaphor for their society, the holes punched in the hull mirror those punched in their bodies and spirits. As we see the men survive warfare, injury, drought and self-doubt, we realize it is the familylike relationship of captain and crew that keeps them all going. Aubry leads them, drives them and nurtures them as a father figure. His military zeal is kept in check by the humanitarian conscience of his civilian surgeon, played by Paul Bettany. The crew may gripe and in-fight, but the members sustain each other and pull together as a community for Britannia.
It's clear by the way the film ends without completely ending that it's positioned for serialization. This is something to be welcomed. It is heartening to know that major studios can produce exciting, engrossing and-intelligent movies when they make the effort.

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Topic - First (local Boston) review of Master and Commander - clarkjohnsen 13:49:42 11/12/03 (3)

it's not clear why the sailors would endure such squalor and face such harm - gware 04:29:12 11/13/03 (1)

It's as close as Hollywood will ever get....nt.. - late 07:55:25 11/13/03 (0)

Even the trailer looks magnificent. - Dmitry 19:08:50 11/12/03 (0)

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