Far from being perfect (The Perfect Storm (DVD))

Member Name: fooyoo

Product:	The Perfect Storm (DVD)
Date:	19/06/02 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It promised a lot

Disadvantages: Poor script, poor acting, not enough details

A film with a top notch cast based on a true story is normally a dead cert for success, and that is what seemed to be the case with this film. It did very well at the box office, and the majority of the reviews were very positive, so I decided to rent this from my local video shop. It has been debated in court how much of the book written by Sebastian Junger is true, as there is nobody to support his version of the events once the boat was out at sea, so a lot has to be left to the imagination of the viewer.

Released in 2000, based in a small fishing town in 1991, called Gloucester in Massachusetts, a place that has become used to it's sons and husbands not returning from fishing trips, a point that we have made when the camera scans across the names of people lost at sea right at the start of the film. This film is about another group of local fisherman in the boat Andrea Gail trying to earn a living when they find themselves in the middle of the biggest storm of the century.

George Clooney stars as Captain Billy Tyne, a fisherman who has hit hard times, and is desperate to make some money from fishing. He knows that the area he is heading for is renowned for bad weather, but he is confident that he and his crew are good enough to make it home with a bumper harvest of swordfish.

The start of the film introduces us to the main characters, and was for me the most enjoyabel section of the film. Mark Wahlberg stars as Bobby Shatford, an inexperienced but keen fisherman, who is desperate to make some money and settle down with his girlfriend Christina played by Diane Lane, must to the delight of his mother. Their friend Murph (Dale Murphy), played by the hugely underrated John C Reilly is persuaded to come along on the trip along with Sully played by William Fichtner, and Bugsy played by John Hawkes. There is another fisherman, Alfred Pierre, played by Allen Payne, but he is barely mentioned. Fellow fisherman Linda Greenlaw, played by Mar

y Elizabeth Mastrantonio tries to persuade the crew not to go on, as she was convinced it was too dangerous, but desperate to land the big catch they ignore all of the warnings.

The part of the film where the crew are at sea could have been developed so much more, and the drama was diluted by the fact that the focus was not solely on the Andrea Gail. We saw another small boat which capsized, which although tragic, did not add anything to the film.

George Clooney tried to look scruffy in what I can only think was an effort to escape the hearthrob image, and be taken more seriously as an actor, but his performance was nowhere near good enough to warrant any praise, as he seems to be so robotic for the majority of the film, and he co stars seemed to want to copy him!

The script was weak and a big disappointment, I felt that the most dramatic parts of the film were rushed, and were not done justice, nor giving the actors the chance to really shine. The effects used to recreate the storm outshine the rest of the film, and that is a shame. Director Wolfgang Petersen has not done himself any favours with this weak piece of work, and I truly cannot understand why it has done so well, and I can totally understand why the relatives of the fisherman have taken such offence at the portrayal of their loved ones in this way.

The film is unentertaining and full of every cliche imaginable. The cast look as uninterested as it seems the director was, and it is a clear attempt to make money on the back of a tragic event, whilst not taking the time to ensure that the film had enough depth to entice the viewer.

The soundtrack by the normally dependable James Horner fails to capture the imagination, and is as bland as the film.

Summary: