On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, a semi-submersible
offshore oil drilling rig suffered a catastrophic disaster when high pressure
sent thousands of gallons of oil into the air when a system of blowout
preventers failed to ease or staunch the flow of the petroleum from beneath the
surface of the ocean bed off the coast of Louisiana. 11 workers were killed as a result, the rig
sank two days later and the continued flow of oil – which lasted 87 days and
resulted in 210 millions gallons of crude to being dumped in the ocean – was
the worst disaster in oil drilling history.
Peter Berg’s Deepwater Horizon takes an unflinching look
at the disaster, turning this adventure into social commentary by examining the
relationship between BP Oil and the workers that were hired to man their rig
and drill at record depths. Within the film’s first 15 minutes we see the first
of many confrontations between the White Collar penny-pinchers and the Blue Collar
good ole boys who find themselves at the mercy of their pursuit of profit. It’s a conflict that’s repeated often and
provides the backbone for this working class anthem, as Berg never allows
subtlety to stand in his way from driving home his message again and
again.
The casting of the movie couldn’t be more spot on as Mark
Wahlberg and Kurt Russell are on board playing the working class Joes in the
spotlight. The former is Mike Williams,
a devoted family man who finds himself in over his head as the rig he’s been
put in charge to maintain is falling apart around his ears. It isn’t that he and his men can’t get it up
to ship shape; they just aren’t given the time and resources to do so. Jimmy Harrell’s (Russell) complaints about
safety measures being ignored also fall on deaf ears and before either one of
them can say, “I told you so,” the Deepwater Horizon is in flames, the result
of a safety test that goes horribly wrong.
The screenplay from Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew
Sand is an exercise in economy and efficiency and it quickly gives us the
necessary background for all the players as well as just enough information so
that we might follow the most rudimentary mechanics behind the disaster. Kate
Hudson as Williams’ wife, Gina Rodriguez as bridge supervisor Andrea Fleytas
and John Malkovich as corporate shirt Vidrine all make an impact during the
brief, albeit well-written scenes they have during the film’s first hour.
Berg’s “you-are-there” aesthetic, which worked so well in Friday Night Lights and Lone Survivor seems a natural fit for this material
and for a while, it succeeds in providing an intimacy to its characters and
their environment that’s compelling.
However, the director’s penchant for tight shots and his insistence on using
handheld cameras winds up being too much of a good thing once the disaster
strikes. While the intent is to put the
viewer in the heart of the chaos, most of the time the result is a confusing
visual muddle that generates frustration rather than suspense. Characters are
too hard to pick up and follow, much of the action is obscured and Berg’s
unsteady camera fails to focus on the victims at hand. Equally frustrating is the sound mix, which
is a mess, rendering simple conversations hard to follow, especially early
on. The actors’ southern and Cajun
accents certainly don’t help.
Be that as it may, there’s no question that the Deepwater
Horizon story is an arresting one.
Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Clint Eastwood’s Sully, this movie also champions those who do their work with honor and integrity,
only to find themselves questioned by those who fail to recognize the value of
their labor or knowledge. In the end,
despite Berg’s confused visual approach, the heroism of those who survived the
Deepwater Horizon disaster shines through.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2016.
