One film that has been swimming below the surface of the awards season talk is Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea. Based on one of the true stories that inspired Herman Melville's classic whaling novel, Moby Dick, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, and Brendan Gleeson as the crew of the Essex, with Ben Whishaw as Melville himself. Here's the official synopsis to go along with the latest trailer:
In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. “Heart of the Sea” reveals the encounter’s harrowing aftermath, as the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.
Originally scheduled for earlier this year, In the Heart of the Sea was moved to December 11th, right in the middle of the Oscar race.
