Too much water … just kidding.
Inspired by true events and the 2009 book of the same name, The Finest Hours tells of how a small boat of U.S. Coast Guardsmen pulled off the most daring rescue in their service’s history. Set in Massachusetts in 1952, the film follows the men aboard the USCG boat 36-500 as they set out to rescue the 30+ man crew trapped aboard the sinking SS Pendleton, an oil tanker bound for Boston that was ripped in half during one of the worst storms to ever hit the East Coast.
As Coast Guard Captain Bernie Webber, Chris Pine trades in the captain’s chair of the Enterprise for the helm of the rescue boat, a woefully undersized vessel for such a large-scale rescue in seas raging with 40-60-foot waves. Casey Affleck plays Ray Sybert, the first assistant engineer and now de facto leader of the Pendelton crew. Under the direction of Craig Gillespie, both actors give very understated performances as the circumstances their characters face outweigh whatever sort of showiness they could’ve fallen into in different hands. Both actors approach the material as their characters must have their respective vessels: as something to steer and maintain on an even keel throughout all the turmoil raging around them.
The supporting cast boasts several familiar faces — including Ben Foster, Eric Bana, Kyle Gallner, Graham MacTavish, John Ortiz, John Magaro, and Abraham Benrubi — but the story simply doesn’t allow them much dimension. The Pendleton crew includes the guy who complains, the affable guy who’s the heart of the team, all thumbnail depictions of that sort. Even Foster isn’t given much of an identity as Bernie’s right-hand man, Seaman Richard Livesey, who mostly communicates in squinty glares.
