★ ★ ★ ½ ☆

Deepwater Horizon itself, it never occurred to me that its destruction even carried an immediate human cost. The great success of the film is that the loss of those eleven men is keenly felt, even if their characterization is slim to non-existent. On April 20, 2010, an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. By the time the fires had been put out and the spillage had been capped 87 days later, it had been named the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history. Being a 14 year-old at the time, with the minimal interest in current affairs that comes with adolescence, my knowledge of the incident prior to this cinematic retelling was limited to the ecological fallout. Not only had I never heard of theitself, it never occurred to me that its destruction even carried an immediate human cost. The great success of the film is that the loss of those eleven men is keenly felt, even if their characterization is slim to non-existent.





Lone Survivor is the triple threat of director Peter Berg, leading man Mark Wahlberg, and composer Steve Jablonsky. They take on the day of disaster from ground zero, following rig worker Mike Williams (Wahlberg) as he leaves his wife (a seriously under-utilised Kate Hudson) and daughter to supervise blowout prevention on the Horizon. Upon arrival, Williams mingles with fellow crew members, suffers through uncomfortable encounters with BP moneyman Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich) and is suddenly thrust into the inferno when a pressure accumulation beneath the rig triggers a total meltdown. Returning from 2013’s rather excellentis the triple threat of director Peter Berg, leading man Mark Wahlberg, and composer Steve Jablonsky. They take on the day of disaster from ground zero, following rig worker Mike Williams (Wahlberg) as he leaves his wife (a seriously under-utilised Kate Hudson) and daughter to supervise blowout prevention on theUpon arrival, Williams mingles with fellow crew members, suffers through uncomfortable encounters with BP moneyman Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich) and is suddenly thrust into the inferno when a pressure accumulation beneath the rig triggers a total meltdown.





The Happening to his comparatively subtle but scorching role in The Departed. Here, we find him somewhere in the middle. He gets a lot of running about to do and dodges a lot of blistering debris, but the strength of his performance is that he sells the good-natured, slightly unkempt labourer in the build-up, so his later good deeds feel completely characteristic (though the film makes the error of playing us a recording of the real Williams before we even get a glimpse of the actor; always something to avoid in biopics). I’ve probably said this before, but I’ll happily watch Mark Wahlberg in anything, from his deer-in-headlights performance into his comparatively subtle but scorching role inHere, we find him somewhere in the middle. He gets a lot of running about to do and dodges a lot of blistering debris, but the strength of his performance is that he sells the good-natured, slightly unkempt labourer in the build-up, so his later good deeds feel completely characteristic (though the film makes the error of playing us a recording of the real Williams before we even get a glimpse of the actor; always something to avoid in biopics).





He shares the screen with a finely-moustachioed Kurt Russel as Jimmy Harrell, the rig’s manager. His main job is to glower at Malkovich a lot, which he accomplishes with aplomb. Dylan O’Brien is also pretty effective in sporadic appearances but is barely noticeable through the layers of mud (and until the credits rolled I was thoroughly convinced it was Evan Peters playing the role).





With the focus initially planted on the humdrum working day of the rig, there’s little need for digital gloss, but when the rig bursts into flame in a series of seat-shaking explosions, the blaze (when seen on a significantly big screen) is enough to burn out the retinas. The physical blood, sweat and tears are also appropriately visceral, and though any gore is toned down in comparison to Berg’s previous picture, the fate that befalls Russell’s character when things go south is sure to induce a good half-hour of sharp winces. Refreshingly, there’s no slow-motion, piano-tinkled attempts to exploit any deaths for entertainment, either, merely a final roll call that says more with just eleven names than any heartstring-tugging music could accomplish.





That said, the score is peak Jablonsky; a collection of sweeping, spinning stringscapes dashed with incidental thrums that speak to an unmistakable milieu of Americana, in which the film is steeped. Sure enough, as Williams turns back from loading life rafts to gape at the pandemonium, the stars & stripes hang intact.





Margin Call, and I feel his hand may have prevented the screenplay’s rank and file versus suit-and-tie metanarrative from coming across so blindingly obvious. The labourers are fast-talking, techno-babbling everymen, while the BP reps are smirking, beady-eyed taskmasters with their shirts tucked in so tightly they may as well be robots. Malkovich’s painfully enunciated accent does little to stave off this comparison. The sight and sound is all very evocative, but a screenplay penned by Matthew Michael Carnahan leaves something to be desired, Carnahan having taken over from previous writer/director J.C. Chandor, who left the project due to creative differences. Chandor made the unintelligible unmissable inand I feel his hand may have prevented the screenplay’s rank and file versus suit-and-tie metanarrative from coming across so blindingly obvious. The labourers are fast-talking, techno-babbling everymen, while the BP reps are smirking, beady-eyed taskmasters with their shirts tucked in so tightly they may as well be robots. Malkovich’s painfully enunciated accent does little to stave off this comparison.



