Just like "Titanic" did, "The Perfect Storm" invites all sorts of witty insults that apply to a disaster movie set in the big blue: phrases like "gets lost at sea," "faces turbulent waters," "can't stay afloat." "Storm" might come close at times, but it never fully earns such scorn. And so I'll refrain from such puns for the rest of this review.
"Storm" is relatively familiar territory for director Wolfgang Petersen, whose "Das Boot" also took place in the water, albeit in a much more confining submarine. And screenwriter Bill Witliff makes some smart choices in his adaptation of Sebastian Junger's best seller, which told the tale of a disaster that occurred nearly a decade ago, when three storms converged in the Atlantic. For instance, when the ship sets sail, absent is the sense of portentous doom that marred "Apollo 13" and weakened Junger's book.
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Just as Junger did, the film allots most of its attention to the storm itself, which ravaged the coast of New England on Halloween in 1991, much to the chagrin of the men aboard the Andrea Gail. "Storm"'s impressive ensemble, which includes George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane and John C. Reilly, is merely there to provide backdrop for the storm.
But the storm itself is larger than life, and so Petersen experiences the same problem that the creators of "Twister" and "Godzilla" faced - their disaster is too huge to capture in its full effect on screen. We see a lot of rain and cresting waves, but are largely unaware of any deeper significance the film could have provided.
Petersen is much better off during the film's opening act, which weaves together a tapestry of the lives of the residents of the New England fishing town of Gloucester, Mass. Witliff has a great ear for New England dialect, and his attention to other details of the culture borders on intoxicating. You can sense the joy and relief the women feel every time their men come back to the docks, and feel the town rejuvenated by their presence. In this way, "Storm" salutes the solidarity of the working class.
It is also here that Witliff introduces the emotional arc that glues the film together and gives it emotional heft: the love story between Bobby (Wahlberg) and his adoring fiance Christina (Lane). The two are radiant as sweethearts anxious to start a life together. The always-terrific Lane is both sweet and smart as Christina, and also works well with Janet Wright as Ethel, Bobby's mother.
The leading actor here is George Clooney as Billy Tyne, captain of the Andrea Gail. Clooney essentially reprises the same heroic gravity he mastered in "Out of Sight" and "Three Kings." But when he doesn't show emotion, Clooney never hints at what lurks beneath the veneer; he just comes off as completely lacking in sentimentality. And his total lack of New England accent removes him even further from the rest of the group.
"Storm" hints at the development of a relationship between Billy and his more successful rival, Linda Greenlaw (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), but in the shadow of Lane and Wahlberg's explosive chemistry, their innuendo seems mighty forced.
A major error with the adaptation occurs in a subplot involving the rescue of a smaller boat and its three passengers and the crash of a Coast Guard helicopter. These scenes feel unnecessarily squeezed into the film, which runs at an extravagant 129 minutes, and it squanders three very talented stars (Karen Allen, Bob Gunton and Cherry Jones).
At this late point of the movie, film editor Richard Francis-Bruce's quick cuts replicate the rocky life at sea, but they disorient the viewer. The six fishermen aboard the Gail eventually become interchangeable as they disappear under their ponchos while trying to steer their vessel. It's hard to attach yourself to people you cannot even distinguish.
"Storm" is heavy on action and light on drama, which allows for very little introspection, contrary to "Boot," which specialized in character complexity. Furthermore, Witliff and Petersen ignore the possibilities of playing out a parable about the fragility of human life, mining the weight of the universal man vs. nature conflict.
"Moby Dick" it is not, but in the end, "Storm" achieves something much more honorable. It becomes a loving tribute to the men who live and die by the sea, and the town that was forever changed by them.
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