Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World

[bix171]

Peter Weir’s early-19th century sea drama (based on the work of beloved writer Patrick O’Brien) feels like a movie that has no real beginning or end—it’s as if you’ve been dropped into the middle of an eight hundred page novel and that the story being told is perhaps more of a subplot. Actually, it seems surprising that there’s a plot at all—the novelty in this day and age of a project about early-19th century seafaring is certainly odd enough to forego a storyline. Weir himself appears to recognize the novelty and spends a lot of his time doting on the ship’s stateliness or detailing the inhabitants’ everyday world (much of which seems to have been lost in the cutting room; there’s a scattershot feel to the picture, as if there were too many digressions to fit). Russell Crowe plays the hero, Captain Jack Aubrey, as he chases a French vessel around the South American coast during the Napoleonic era. Crowe plays it safe here—he’s on the verge of becoming the new Harrison Ford, a colorless hero who’s traded his acting chops for audience adulation. This being a Weir film, there has to be some kind of class warfare and the simmering, antagonistic relationship between the ship’s crew and their officers (most of whom are adolescent aristocrats) is examined, although only in fits and starts. (In one of the film’s more ethereal moments, one of the young officers is actually driven to suicide.) But Weir somewhat confusingly co-opts his normally sympathetic views of the working class by making Crowe’s character loved blindly by his men, a champion they pledge undying loyalty for, even though his obsessions put his crew in harm’s way more often than not. Though it’s difficult to shake the film’s slightness and its lack of focus—it’s hard to figure out what it’s about, really—it’s still worthwhile: in spite of its aspiration to epic greatness, it does manage to retain a sense of intimacy that allows for plenty of opportunities to take it all in and simply observe.

[cinemabon]

I feel inadequate commenting on your post other than I have seen this film a couple of times and enjoyed it for what it was... a sea adventure story. It neither purports to make commentary on political issues (like Mutiny on the Bounty did on inhuman conditions aboard English sailing ships), nor does it involve the usual romance at sea angle (like Captain Blood or The Seahawk where Flynn often had a girl waiting for him at home). Much to my chagrin, I have not read the Patrick O'Brian novels. There are many who have and are great fans of the series. I did not hear where the film strayed too far from the plot of the books, which describe in great detail life aboard a particular English sailing ship under the command of Jack Aubrey. Like most fiction of this type, the hero is larger than life and generous to a fault. The one aspect of this film that intrigued me was that not one female appears in the entire film. Not exactly a date movie. Still, enough enjoyed looking at Russell Crowe so that the film was considered a success. I liked the movie as an adventure story. I also liked Weir's attention to detail, for which he deservedly was nominated for an Academy Award. Roger Ebert gave this film a very long and favorable review. His comments are located in the archive section at the Chicago Sun Times.

[Johann]

Master and Commander is one of the great recent movies.
I loved it.

Russell Crowe can get on my nerves in short order- he has an ego the size of Spain- but he's pretty good in this film.
His Jack Aubrey is a fine leader, a fine captain, just how I would imagine they were back in the day. When I think of great "leaders" in film I always judge them against Orson Welles, because he had a commanding presence that seems to be the epitome of leadership, and Crowe held up nicely in that regard.

Do it: picture Orson Welles in Crowe's role. He's got it, right? You bet he does. "Master" is one of the few Crowe films that I will watch again and again.

Thanks for your review Bix. Crowe doesn't necessarily "play it safe" though- he did what he could given the script and his director.

How would you have had him play Aubrey? I also have not read the O'Brien books- I'm basing my comments solely on the movie.

[bix171]

[The one aspect of this film that intrigued me was that not one female appears in the entire film.]

Not to be nitpicky, cinemabon, but I believe there were some women when they pulled into port to give the guys some short-lived R&R.

Johann, as for Orson Welles, I can't see it unless you refer specifically to his aristocratic good looks in his early years. As a hero, though, he'd have to be of the flawed nature and Russell Crowe displays very little by way of flaws. His primary flaw--obsession with catching his prey--is actually a plus: he does get his man, after all, by outsmarting him.

I haven't read O'Brien's books either so I'm not sure how I'd play him. But I understand he's more...well, flawed in the books: overweight and a by-the-book kind of guy. Actually, a young Brando comes to mind. I wouldn't be surprised if that isn't who Crowe was going after--you know, Fletcher Christian from the remake.

[JustaFied]

I really enjoyed this film as well. I forced myself to watch it, wasn't expecting much, and was pleasantly surprised.

You talk about the Captain's "obsession", but I think his "obsession" was simply to carry out his orders. He was sent to sea to prevent the French ship from crossing into the Pacific, so that's what he set out to do.

I also find it rather refreshing that the movie isn't "about" anything. It doesn't pander to the audience or feel a need to entertain us with absurdities as in Pirates of the Caribbean.

It's a tale of life on the high seas, and we get a glimpse of the power struggles, the leadership abilities (and lack thereof), and the class differences involved in such a life.

[cinemabon]

One of the outstanding features of this film is the ongoing relationship between the Captain and the ship's Doctor. Are they friends? At times it is readily apparent, however not that simple. Take their musical duets. They seem less like companions and more like adversaries dueling with instruments rather than creating a single sound when musicians usually play together. Both men have strong opinions with Aubrey playing his trump card, exerting his rank as Captain with the final word, even though the ship's Doctor can make him unfit for command (his ace in the hole). They have an ongoing battle of wits often met with the Captain's less subtle brute force. There is comradery which comes at a price. In the end, the Captain must enforce the book of rules regardless of how unjust that may appear. It is a strange dicotomy that bears the focus of our learned psychiatrist.

As to the role of females, I meant to suggest that if there are any women in the film (I didn't recall any) their role is relegated to obscurity in the face of the mostly male dominated film.