A dark open sea seen from above, the sound of the wind and the slapping of waves against the bow of a sailing ship, the creaking of rigging in the blackest of nights. A caption reads HMS Surprise, 28 guns, 197 souls, Coast of Brazil, April 1805. There’s something in that caption - 197 souls - which presages the isolated and self-contained world of a 19th century navy warship. In the Napoleonic wars, the mission given to the Surprise is to intercept the French Privateer Acheron and to ‘sink, burn or take her a prize.’ The camera follows a lantern held by a crewman below decks, illuminating seamen’s hammocks from beneath like so many swaying bats in a cave. The ship’s bell sounds 4 times and the ship starts to come to life with the silhouettes of men climbing the rigging against the lightening sky.
Set during the Napoleonic Wars, Crowe is Patrick O’Brian’s Captain ’’Lucky’’ Jack Aubrey, renowned as a fighting captain in the British Navy, and Paul Bettany is ship’s doctor Stephen Maturin. Their ship, the Surprise, is suddenly attacked by a superior enemy. With the HMS Surprise badly damaged and much of his crew injured, Aubrey is torn between duty and friendship as he pursues a high-stakes chase across two oceans, to intercept and capture his foe. It’s a mission that can make his reputation - or destroy Lucky Jack and his crew. In the course of the characters’ epic journey, the movie travels the world - from the coast of Brazil to the storm-tossed waters of Cape Horn, south through ice and snow, to the far side of the world, to the remote shores of The Galapagos Islands.
Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World is an adventure story from the novels of supreme storyteller Patrick O’Brien, I have not read any of them, whose works have been acclaimed for their historical accuracy and meticulous research as well as for their literary merit.
’Master’ is a unique film in a few ways - firstly the narrative is set almost entirely on or below the decks of the sailing vessel HMS Surprise, whilst the characters themselves are the sole ones on-screen. Sure we get glimpses of island natives and the enemy ship’s crew, but they’re brief and only enough time for one or two lines - this is entirely about the crewmen onboard the ship and their interactions with each other. There’s no real story except for the pursuit of the enemy French vessel Acheron, and even that antagonist not only goes missing for much of the film but when it does appear its more like a force of nature than anything else as we know nothing about the crew which remain faceless and unseen for practically the full runtime.
Yet for over two hours it remains completely captivating. A lot of it has to do with the cast which truly work well together. Crowe is a major talent absolutely no question, he ALWAYS gives it a go in every performance he does and yet while his portrayal here isn’t a memorable performance like some of his more recent work (ala ’’The Insider’’, ’’A Beautiful Mind’’), its still a rock solid anchor around which everyone gyrates. Crowe’s matched, if not beaten by co-star Paul Bettany as the more science-oriented Maturin - both of these very opposite characters play off each other extremely well and the ’friendship’ aspect of the two is handled with great care and thus comes off with pitch perfect credibility. The various young faces of the cast lend strong support, especially Max Pirkis as a very young blond sailor whom Aubrey takes under his wing after a terrible injury is sustained in the opening sequence.
The behind-the-scenes talent is equally up to the task:
Photography: Cinematography wise this is one of the more stunning looking movies of the year, truly epic in visual scope and combined with long-time collaborator Weir, Russell Boyd’s steady hand makes the stark beauty of the Galapagos Islands or the raging waters of the South Seas around Cape Horn and Tierra Del Fuego look superb.
Editing: The editing by Lee Smith is beautifully done. Especially the scenes on the ship during the action. Both towards the start and end are some great suspenseful chase and action scenes involving the enemy ship which work the tension level extremely well without going overboard.
Production Design of this film is simply immaculate. Meticulous attention is paid to every conceivable detail to sail you back into the early 1800s.
Sound: Sound design is excellent. The waves keep sloshing you from all the sides. During the most intense scenes, juxtaposed with the close camerawork, the sound effects plunge you terrifyingly into the midst of the action. At the most exciting moments it’s a touch too loud for comfort, calculated to create tension and suspense at least, and pure fright at most. At quieter moments the suspense is tangible, as when the Officer of the Watch is uncertain what he glimpsed through his telescope in the thick bank of mist off the starboard bow. Is it a hostile Man o‘ War or a reef?
Music: Combining various music directors, it’s a pleasure to listen to the compositions of Iva Davies, Richard Tognetti and Christopher Gordon whose astute combination of classical music, synthesised atmospheric music and exciting percussion contributes wonderfully to create an experience of rare beauty and an utterly thrilling adventure of another age.
Visual Effects: They complement the film well. Although much of the stunts and the action is pure physical, there is a small amount of CGI which is almost non-detectable.
Direction by Peter Weir is simply superb. The director has done his own historical research to create a production which in its attention to detail is as authentic as possible, and which successfully pulls the audience in, allowing us to feel we are there, experiencing the hard life on board this sailing ship.