Film Review: Crowhurst (2018)
Donald Crowhurst's story has been rather popular of late, spawning two films released very closely to each other: The Mercy and the comparatively low-budget Crowhurst.
Crowhurst tells the true story of the titular man's attempt to increase his stature in the world of sailing to enable him to sell more of his sailing products. He intends to do this by completing the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in which participants must sail around the world without making any stops. Although Crowhurst miraculously manages to build up the funds to get himself a serviceable yacht, things don't go entirely to plan once he sets off on his epic journey.
I was initially worried when the film began as I found the initial ten minutes or so rather soapy. The acting was overly theatrical and I found the tone a little odd. However as soon as the voyage begins the film really comes into it's own. It's clear that this was the part the director was excited about bringing to the big screen. There are extended scenes of Crowhurst on his boat, his monotonous routine and loneliness laid bare. We feel as if we're in his shoes, nothing but blue either side, only his own voice for company. Director Simon Rumley is more known for horror films than biopics and that is evident here as he has a knack of bringing across the unsettling nature of the expedition using some horror style sounds and cuts that work very well. There's a strange psychadelic nature to certain scenes that feels totally at home here as we watch a man descend into insanity.
Justin Salinger is also to be applauded, he carries the film almost solely on his own back and despite my early worries does so with aplomb, bringing across the arrogance, naivety and eventual realisation of someone who knows he's bitten off more than he can chew in a way where we feel for him, but not without realising the stupidity of what he is doing.
This is one of those films that will stick with you. I was left wanting to research more about the voyage, and I still think about the film now, weeks after I saw it. That unsettling feeling returning every time I do. A truly memorable film.