IN THE HEART OF THE SEA | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"IN THE HEART OF THE SEA"
(2015) (Chris Hemsworth, Brendan Gleeson) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama/Action: A man recounts his tale of serving on a whaling ship when he was just a teenager and their crew endured repeated attacks by a huge and apparently vindictive whale.

PLOT:

It's 1850, and author Herman Melville (BEN WHISHAW) has arrived at the Nantucket home of Tom Nickerson (BRENDAN GLEESON) in hopes that the older man will tell him about what happened onboard the whaling ship Essex three decades earlier. Tom has spoken to no one about that experience, not even his wife, but reluctantly agrees due to pressure from his spouse. The tale then rewinds to 1820 when Thomas (TOM HOLLAND) was a 14-year-old green hand onboard that whaler where tensions were high even before setting sail. And that's because married man and father-to-be Owen Chase (CHRIS HEMSWORTH) was promised to be named captain for the next whale expedition funded by the Pollard family, only to learn that the inexperienced George Pollard (BENJAMIN WALKER) was awarded that position.

With that uneasy working arrangement in place, the crew -- that consists of various men including Owen's best friend from childhood, Matthew Joy (CILLIAN MURPHY), and Pollard's cousin, Henry Coffin (FRANK DILLANE) -- sets sail to the South Atlantic sea. But with little to show for their efforts, they decide to head further out into the ocean -- thousands of miles offshore -- in hopes of finding a reported pack of whales, despite the warnings of a Spanish captain who lost his boat and much of his crew to a monstrous whale that was seemingly intent on destroying them.

Pollard and his crew indeed find that whale pack, but must then contend with the ramifications of the vindictive whale repeatedly attacking them.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: It's possible some teens might show some interest, especially if they're fans of anyone in the cast.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For intense sequences of action and peril, brief startling violence, and thematic material.

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