Deepwater Horizon

It's October, which means the big Oscar hopefuls are about to pile up in cineplexes. One of those hopefuls is Deepwater Horizon, director Peter Berg's account of the disaster aboard the eponymous oil rig. Let's see how it is.

In 2010, Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) heads off for the Deepwater Horizon for a three-week job. The crew, overseen by Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell), is employed to drill in the Gulf of Mexico. But they're 43 days behind schedule. Executives Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich) and Robert Kaluza (Brad Leland) want the crew to go faster. The crew wants a few safety checks before they proceed. The executives let them do that.

The consequences of cut corners and lack of maintenance bubbles to the surface. The drill pipe malfunctions and explodes. The Deepwater Horizon goes up in flames. Mike and the rest of the crew have to stay cool to get off the rig.

The film's screenplay came from the New York Times article Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours. The film starts off by introducing the crew and their issues. It takes about an hour before the disaster occurs. The roughly first hour or so goes by pretty quick. Perhaps too quick. The techno jargon was plentiful. The supporting characters barely get enough character development. There's not much of a third act to give closure for the main characters either. Still...

The actors were capable in their roles. Wahlberg makes for a likable family man thrust into chaos. The same is said for Gina Rodriguez, as Andrea Fleytas, whose character defies orders to call for a mayday. Malkovich makes for a perfectly stuffy businessman. Russell is great as Harrell, who ignores his egregious injuries so he can do his job. They made the film worth watching.

The crew also did great. The Sound Designers are the ones, I think, with the best Oscar chances. The sound effects, from the explosions to their buildup, were powerful and tense. Cutting off the sound for some explosions was also effective. The editors' best work comes from when they build up to the first explosions. The makeup team provide the film with realistic wounds, many of which definitely push the boundaries of PG-13.

Deepwater Horizon tells a capable story about ordinary people surviving disaster. You'll still get to care about what happened even with all the screenplay's details. That makes the 107 minutes a functional experience.

If you see the film, you'll more than likely see an ad for Berg and Wahlberg's next feature, Patriots Day, opening around Christmas. Let's see how that does.