Reenacting the events that unfolded in a historical tragedy, Warner Bros. Pictures’ recent film In the Heart of the Sea displays the struggle between human morality and the instinct to survive. Based on a book of the same name, the film retells the sinking of the whaling boat Essex, which was the inspiration of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

The movie begins with the novelist Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) visiting innkeeper Thomas Nickerson (Tom Holland), who was one of the survivors of the sinking of the Essex. Melville asks for Nickerson’s account of the adventures in the boat, which Nickerson hesitantly complies. The story goes back to the year 1820, in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson) is assigned as cabin boy. The film then centers around Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), who was recently assigned as first mate of the Essex. Owen is disappointed that he was not appointed to a captain’s position, which was taken by George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), an inexperienced member of a prestigious whaling family.

Throughout the story the two main characters clash with and belittle each other in various aspects like leadership and class. Chase finds Pollard as a stubborn, arrogant individual who is unskilled as a captain, while Pollard sees Chase as a talented, popular sailor who is threatening his authority as captain. However, when Pollard ignores Chase to avoid a possible storm, the ship and the crew are nearly devastated, causing the two to set aside their differences and work together to find and hunt the whales. By cooperating with each other, the crew successfully hunts their first whale.

Months later, the crew sees no whales to hunt in the Atlantic, and the Essex goes west to the Pacific. Along the way, the crew meet a Spanish captain sailed after a huge sighting of whales, only to be attacked by an albino sperm whale, destroying his ship. Chase and Pollard ignores the warnings from the Spanish captain and heads for the group of whales. After sighting the whales and sending down the whaling boats, the crew is attacked and the main ship is destroyed. The crew is then forced to survive with limited rations on the three boats while being pursued by the whale.

The film In the Heart of the Sea bears many similarities with several adventure drama films that have been recently produced, such as Life of Pi. Both movies have narrators who are distraught by the horrors they faced in the journey, are forced to temporarily abandon some of their principles to survive, and are stranded in the open sea with a few companions. The struggle between morality and survival remains as an important factor throughout some of the scenes in the films.

Another important detail in the story is the developing friendship between Pollard and Chase. In the beginning, Chase is jealous of Pollard for becoming a captain despite having no experience in the seas, and tries to overshadow Pollard by taking care of everything that the captain is supposed to do. Pollard, on the other hand, is jealous of Chase’s talent and leadership, and harasses Chase by comparing his social position with his own and prying into Chase’s past. However, after cooperating with each other during a harsh storm, the two characters come to accept each other as comrades and accept their position as captain and first mate. In fact, when Polland calls himself an incompetent captain after losing the ship, Chase reassures him that he is blameless.

In the Heart of the Sea is an interesting film that people may find interesting if they give it a chance. Even though some critics may call it a “box office bomb” that lacks complexity in the story, the film is worth watching to all adventure-loving individuals.