This was not a great film. From the opening credit sequence to the ending miraculous shots, the film follows the obvious route of "made-for-TV" without cutting corners or taking shortcuts. For a little over three hours we watch as we are guided by Branagh and his group of unknowns through different sound stages, outdoor shots full of graininess, and classic wind machines put to great use. The story is weak, the acting was not a necessity for those producers at A&E, and outside of Shackleton, there is no defined voice of our other characters. Again, this not was a great film. Yet, somehow, I found myself glued, wide awake, and attentive through the entire adventure. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I knew nothing, prior to this film, about the man Earnest Shackleton or about his ill-fated expedition. Perhaps it was more the excitement of watching man versus Mother Nature or even seeing a new place that I had only seen on maps or other television program. I don't know what it was, but Shackleton kept me glued to my TV screen. There was no reason for me to enjoy this film, but alas, I did. Not due to the acting, not the story, and definitely not the visuals, but mainly due to the historical element. I enjoyed watching, as morbid as this sounds, how painful and uncontrollable Mother Nature can be and how it combats the strength of men. This impressed me more than anything that escaped Branagh's mouth did.
To begin, this was a difficult film to watch. After seeing Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou several times, I had trouble separating Bill Murray the explorer and Kenneth Branagh the explore, which are two completely different characters. Maybe I watched in hopes that Willem Dafoe would arrive to bring some humor to this crew, but alas, it never happened. Nonetheless, Branagh did a decent job as the hard-nosed Brit that felt more desire to save his crew than finish the expedition. Oddly enough, Branagh is one of the only actors that can steal three-plus hours of my life and I really don't mind. Other actors, I have some trouble with, but Branagh seems to deliver, even at his worst, a character that is easy on the eyes. Shackleton was not his best, but I followed him because I was compelled to see where he would take me. Is that a sign of a good actor or a good director? I don't know because I wasn't happy with the direction that Charles Sturridge took during this adventure. For the first hour-plus we are privy to brief moments of Shackleton's private life and his ability to sell his dreams, but that is not what this film is all about. This film is about the dangers and dedication that these men had to staying alive. I would have wished that Sturridge had dedicated more time towards the perils and less towards the underdevelopment of the characters. Sturridge placed so much emphasis on the characters, that by the end of the film you didn't really know any of them except for Shackleton, yet we needed more development to heighten the emotion at the end. Branagh brought himself decently to the screen, but it is in my opinion that Sturridge did not craft together a strong enough story.
This viewer also had trouble with the overall British environment that Sturridge created. I realize that Shackleton was a British man, but in this film it felt as if he glazed it on rather heavily. Whenever there was trouble for these men, you could undoubtedly expect our characters to yell "bloody" about something. While it was fun at first, I just felt like Sturridge was pushing it in my face. Maybe it wasn't such a big deal, but I seemed to notice it quite a bit more as the temperature continued to drop. Coupled with the language was the poor set design. I shouldn't say poor, but rather inconsistent. In the beginning, there was some excitement "traveling" to these different wealthy homes (which were the same but with different items inside), but when we got to the Antarctic, there wasn't much to speak about. I felt as if we were walking over the same sets over and over again, but just moving the iceberg in a different location. The funniest and most deplorable moment, was when Shackleton and his small crew fought the storm on the sea. I couldn't tell what was happening, but thanks to the graininess, I didn't have to. E-gad, I thought A&E had more money than this!
Overall, I cannot harshly critique this film because I did watch all three hours of it without a single flinch of sleep, but I cannot give credit to the acting, the characters, the direction, the set design, or the story. What I loved about this film was the human element. The power of endurance, which ironically was the name of his sinking boat (symbolism oh, I think so!), kept me captured to the screen. I would not recommend this film to friends because of the lengthiness to get to the finale (it is almost like going on your own Shackleton adventure), but I cannot knock it. If you can get past the poor production value of this film and see the power of the historical and Mother Nature element, than I think you will like it. For me, I must go watch Life Aquatic one more time to get a true "explorer" spirit into my mind!
Grade: *** out of *****
To begin, this was a difficult film to watch. After seeing Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou several times, I had trouble separating Bill Murray the explorer and Kenneth Branagh the explore, which are two completely different characters. Maybe I watched in hopes that Willem Dafoe would arrive to bring some humor to this crew, but alas, it never happened. Nonetheless, Branagh did a decent job as the hard-nosed Brit that felt more desire to save his crew than finish the expedition. Oddly enough, Branagh is one of the only actors that can steal three-plus hours of my life and I really don't mind. Other actors, I have some trouble with, but Branagh seems to deliver, even at his worst, a character that is easy on the eyes. Shackleton was not his best, but I followed him because I was compelled to see where he would take me. Is that a sign of a good actor or a good director? I don't know because I wasn't happy with the direction that Charles Sturridge took during this adventure. For the first hour-plus we are privy to brief moments of Shackleton's private life and his ability to sell his dreams, but that is not what this film is all about. This film is about the dangers and dedication that these men had to staying alive. I would have wished that Sturridge had dedicated more time towards the perils and less towards the underdevelopment of the characters. Sturridge placed so much emphasis on the characters, that by the end of the film you didn't really know any of them except for Shackleton, yet we needed more development to heighten the emotion at the end. Branagh brought himself decently to the screen, but it is in my opinion that Sturridge did not craft together a strong enough story.
This viewer also had trouble with the overall British environment that Sturridge created. I realize that Shackleton was a British man, but in this film it felt as if he glazed it on rather heavily. Whenever there was trouble for these men, you could undoubtedly expect our characters to yell "bloody" about something. While it was fun at first, I just felt like Sturridge was pushing it in my face. Maybe it wasn't such a big deal, but I seemed to notice it quite a bit more as the temperature continued to drop. Coupled with the language was the poor set design. I shouldn't say poor, but rather inconsistent. In the beginning, there was some excitement "traveling" to these different wealthy homes (which were the same but with different items inside), but when we got to the Antarctic, there wasn't much to speak about. I felt as if we were walking over the same sets over and over again, but just moving the iceberg in a different location. The funniest and most deplorable moment, was when Shackleton and his small crew fought the storm on the sea. I couldn't tell what was happening, but thanks to the graininess, I didn't have to. E-gad, I thought A&E had more money than this!
Overall, I cannot harshly critique this film because I did watch all three hours of it without a single flinch of sleep, but I cannot give credit to the acting, the characters, the direction, the set design, or the story. What I loved about this film was the human element. The power of endurance, which ironically was the name of his sinking boat (symbolism oh, I think so!), kept me captured to the screen. I would not recommend this film to friends because of the lengthiness to get to the finale (it is almost like going on your own Shackleton adventure), but I cannot knock it. If you can get past the poor production value of this film and see the power of the historical and Mother Nature element, than I think you will like it. For me, I must go watch Life Aquatic one more time to get a true "explorer" spirit into my mind!
Grade: *** out of *****