413. Greyhound; movie review

 

 

GREYHOUND

Cert 12

92 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate war violence, threat, infrequent strong language

Surely, a movie such as Greyhound would be much more effective in a cinema, wouldn't it?

Mind you, I was thankful that I didn't watch it in 4DX because I fear I might have been seasick.

Almost every minute of this Second World War picture took place amid intense action on rolling waves on the Atlantic Ocean.

Greyhound, like another Tom Hanks movie, Saving Private Ryan, gives the viewer the sense of being in the thick of battle.

But this time, instead of the open beaches of Normandy, the experience is of the claustrophobic warship supporting a vital supply convoy.

Hanks wrote the screenplay for Aaron Schneider's film which sees him portray the captain of the Greyhound over two days in the "Black Pit" in the Atlantic where the supply convoy is out of range of air cover.

This is where U-boats lay in wait to cause havoc by sinking as many vessels as possible.

There is scarcely a moment when the crew does not have to be fully on their mettle and in sync with each other and the other ships in the convoy.

Of course, technology nowadays would make it easier to pick up and attack enemy craft with precision.

In the 1940s, the sailors were still using rudimentary tools, using pencil and paper identifying locations of vessels who are moving at speed.

The pressure to find the enemy is intense because if they don't, they could well be sunk.

They also have to fend off missile attacks and the fighting is at such close quarters, they could come under friendly fire or even crash into allied or enemy vessels.

Schneider conveys all of the above with deft touch and Hanks delivers his usual convincing portrayal.

He is very much front and centre of the film, barely being off-screen for a single shot but among those at his side are Stephen Graham as his number two and Rob Morgan as his caring mess attendant.

But Greyhound is less about the actors and more about the action. It is brutal and constant and prompted us to wonder at how anyone could possibly survive such mayhem.

But they did and risked their lives over and over again.

We should be forever thankful.

Reasons to watch: Makes the audience feel like they were in the midst of battle

Reasons to avoid: One long battle scene

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Over the course of the six-year battle for the Atlantic, as many as 80,000 Allied sailors, merchant mariners and airmen were killed. An estimated 28,000 to 30,000 U-boat crewmen died - roughly 70 per cent of the 41,000 German sailors who fought during the war.

The final word. Tom Hanks: "As a guy who goes back to World War II again and again, I see a direct correlation to life as it's lived right now, To me, it's always been about: What would we do if we were in those same circumstances? And guess what? We are in many of those circumstances right now." Ew.com

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