Disney’s The Finest Hours is just a small glimpse into what the major movie company can do with nonfiction.
The Finest Hours takes place in 1952 and tells the real story of four Coast Guard sailors who were sent out to rescue the crew of an oil tanker when it split right in half off the coast of Massachusetts.
This movie is just as stressful as it sounds, but it’s in that captivating way that means you’ve really gotten into a movie. I personally got into the movie super quickly. The snowy scenes depicting a frosty New England winter even had me thinking that the temperature of the movie theater had dropped a few degrees.
Aside from the entertaining and anxiety-inducing plot, the scenes themselves were all beautifully shot and the movie as a whole was really pleasant to look it. Expansive wide shots alternated with detailed close-ups makes for a good balance between personal and encompassing moments. And needless to say, a cast that includes Chris Pine and Casey Affleck isn’t all that bad to look at either.
All the trailers seem to emphasize the romance between Miriam Penttinen and Bernie Webber (played by Holliday Grainger and Chris Pine), but it’s honestly not the biggest part of the film. Nor is it my favorite. It’s a sweet story woven into the bigger plot, but it wasn’t what made the movie special to me.
If anything, I loved how Miriam was challenging gender roles left and right and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind throughout the whole movie. It’s refreshing to see a character like that in any film, especially if that character is based off of a real person.
The best part of the movie has to be the action scenes. Instead of mindless explosions added solely for dramatic effect, every big action scene added on to the story and just made the whole thing more interesting. Plus, there was enough character development to make you genuinely concerned for everyone on board. It’s pretty much guaranteed that a movie that centers on a harrowing ocean rescue is not going to be boring; but even the supposedly slow-moving scenes that consisted of mostly dialogue managed to get my attention.
Overall, I give The Finest Hours a 9/10: it has all the action and suspense you could wish for in a movie while still giving you that warm-and-fuzzy Disney feeling that we all know and love.