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In the Heart of the Sea is a historical adventure-drama directed by Ron Howard, based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s non-fiction book of the same name. Initially released in December 2015, the film recently debuted on Netflix. It follows the tragic true story of the American whaleship Essex, which was struck and sunk by a massive sperm whale in 1820.
The central characters of In the Heart of the Sea are Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), the ship's first mate, Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), and Thomas Nickerson (Tom Holland), the cabin boy. After they get attacked on their whaling expedition, their crew spends months stranded at sea, battling starvation, physical struggles, and moral dilemmas.
Nickerson, one of the surviving members, narrates the story to Herman Melville as a grown man in the movie. Apart from Nickerson, the other surviving members of the fateful voyage were George Pollard, Owen Chase, Benjamin Lawrence, Thomas Chappel (Caleb Chappel in the movie), Charles Ramsdell, Seth Weeks, and William Wright.
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In the Heart of the Sea ending- 8 crew members survived the sinking of the whaleship Essex
The ending of In the Heart of the Sea showcases the tragic fates of the crew aboard the Essex. Of the 20 men aboard the whaleship, only 8 survived the shipwreck. Following the destruction of their ship by the sperm whale, the survivors abandon the sinking ship and endure months adrift in the Pacific Ocean in small whaleboats.
They reach Henderson Island, and with limited supplies and no hope of immediate rescue, they face starvation, dehydration, and mental trauma. Three men decide to stay on the island, and the rest leave on the three boats, hoping to reach an inhabited land.
The film takes a darker turn when some crew members resort to cannibalism by eating their deceased shipmates to stay alive. One of the boats is lost at sea forever, but two are eventually rescued: one by a passing whaling ship near the coast of South America and the other by a ship near Chile.
The three members who chose to stay on the island are eventually rescued. Among the members who left on the boats, five survive, and the rest die and are eaten by the surviving members. Below is a list of the characters that make it out alive -
- Benjamin Walker as George Pollard
- Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase
- Joseph Mawle as Benjamin Lawrence
- Paul Anderson as Caleb Chappel ( Thomas Chappel in real life)
- Tom Holland / Brendan Gleeson as Thomas Nickerson
- Sam Keeley as Charles Ramsdell
- Nick Tabone as Seth Weeks
- Luca Tosi as William Wright
What is the connection between In the Heart of the Sea
and Moby-Dick?
As stated above, In the Heart of the Sea is based on Nathaniel Philbrick's 2000 non-fiction book In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. The real-life tragedy described in this book inspired Herman Melville to write his classic novel Moby-Dick.
Melville is also a part of the film; he is played by Ben Whishaw. The film starts with Melville interviewing an old Thomas Nickerson, who is now an innkeeper. Nickerson narrates the entire film to Melville through flashbacks, and these accounts form the backbone of Melville’s fictionalized tale.
In an interview with Collider on November 20, 2015, Tom Holland talked about his character and the similarities between the movie and the book. He said,
"As an actor, to have your character’s journal on what happened is like the cheat list. It’s so good to have all these different emotions and intentions that were going through his head while experiencing these amazing events."
He continued:
"One of which is the first time he sees the whale; all fear went out the window, he was just shocked by the sheer size of the creature and the eye. An eye of a sperm whale would be as big as our heads, they’re absolutely huge."
Holland further added:
"The exact same thing happened to me, we had a life-size prosthetic version of a sperm whale and all of us were like, ‘That must be fake, that can’t be that size really.’ It’s ridiculous."
Catch In the Heart of the Sea on Netflix.
